Coco Gauff faced a tough battle on August 28, securing her place in the second round of the US Open with a win over Croatian player Donna Vekic. In the midst of the match, Gauff found solace in the stands, where Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was cheering her on.
“She helped me pull it out,” Gauff, 21, expressed in a post-match interview. “I was just thinking: If she could go on a 6-inch beam and do that, with all the pressures of the world, then I can hit the ball.”
Emotions ran high for Gauff during the opening set, particularly after a double fault that brought her to tears. She used a towel to shield her face, revealing the weight of the moment.
“I just show people what it’s like to be a human, and I have bad days,” she reflected. “But I think it’s more about how you get up after those bad moments and how you show up after that.”
Biles, 28, has been candid about her own mental health struggles throughout her illustrious career, which includes seven Olympic gold medals. Her presence provided Gauff with a sense of calm amid the pressure.
“It brought me a little bit of calm, just knowing her story, with all the things she went through mentally,” Gauff noted. “She’s an inspiration, surely.”
Notably, Biles withdrew from several events during the 2020 Summer Olympics, prioritizing her mental well-being over competition. “I say put mental health first,” she stated at the time. “Because if you don’t, then you’re not going to enjoy your sport and you’re not going to succeed as much as you want to.”
Reflecting on her decision a year later, Biles told USA Today that she was pleased to have brought attention to athletes’ mental health. “I honestly didn’t realize in that moment the impact that it would have,” she shared in a 2022 interview. “It still blows my mind to know that it wasn’t spoken about before as much as it is now.”
After overcoming her initial struggles in the match, Gauff managed to “reset” and focus on her performance. “It was a challenging moment for me on the court,” she admitted. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks on and off the court, but I’m just happy to get through it today.”
Looking ahead, Gauff is set to face Poland’s Magdalena Fręch in her next match on August 30.
