Coco Gauff.Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for American Express
As Coco Gauff continues her journey at the 2021 US Open, she’s also reflecting on one high-profile competition she was forced to miss this year.
Gauff had to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics in July after testing positive for COVID-19. Reflecting now, Gauff tells PEOPLE, “It was disappointing not to be able to go, but I think I was only sad for about a day, then after that I was of the mindset that you can’t change the past and everything happens for a reason.”
“Hopefully I can qualify, and nothing happens last-minute, fingers crossed,” Gauff, 17, adds laughing.
Coco Gauff.Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for American Express
On Wednesday night, Gauff fell to Sloane Stephens in the second round of the US Open women’s singles tournament. She’s still in the women’s doubles competition, however, and will play alongside Caty McNally on Thursday evening.
Having partners like American Express helps her success “a lot,” Gauff tells PEOPLE, noting the company’s support of the USTA Foundations' Excellence Program, which provides coaching to aspiring tennis players who may not have access to necessary resources.
When Gauff isn’t on the court, she’s just like every non-tennis-phenom teen: creating content on TikTok.
“For me, TikTok is definitely the platform I feel like I can reach the most people around my age,” she explains. “It’s really cool. It has some things other platforms just wouldn’t understand with the trends and the lingo. I just enjoy following the trends and it’s the app I don’t have to focus so much on what I post, or branding, or anything like that. It’s very relaxed.”
source: people.com
