"I am playing a lot freer and having fun" says Gauff on meteoric rise on clay

Coco Gauff has been sensational on the red dirt posting a 12-3 record on the surface in 2021 and at Roland-Garros media day she spoke about her rise.

It has been a great spring for Gauff who performed excellently on clay reaching the Rome Masters semifinal and adding her 2nd career trophy in Parma last week. The American teenager has a 12-3 record on the surface in 2021. It started off badly in Madrid but she was able to turn it around in Rome. She explained a change in mindset helped her unleash her game:

"[In] Madrid, I came in there a bit nervous just because I was focused on my ranking and we all know about the whole Olympic thing and how close everything is. I was focusing on that. [After Madrid], I was, like, I'm just going to not stress about it. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen."

Since Madrid Gauff has been on a tear losing only to Swiatek in the Rome Masters semifinal. In terms of her tennis, Gauff said:

"I think I have been playing a lot freer, and I think you can see it while I'm on the court. That's how I'm going to into this tournament. I'm just going to have fun and live in the moment and in the matches."

Gauff talked to former players who are retired to better understand the pressure of playing competitive tennis and she incorporated some of the things into her own mentality. She said she simply tries to enjoy more:

"I just feel like even now instead of stressing and when the score is a little bit tough, instead of stressing out I think I'm really just enjoying the pressure and enjoying the moment. I talked to a couple of players who are older who are retired, and at the end of the day they just always say the same thing, that the thing they regret the most is not enjoying it while they are doing it. That's something that I don't want to take for granted."