Former
British player
Annabel Croft expressed her concern for
Coco Gauff after a
surprising loss at the
Cincinnati Open. The American No. 1 fell in her debut at
the Cincinnati Open against
Yulia Putintseva and quickly failed to defend her
title.
Coco Gauff's ranking in jeopardy
Gauff is
facing a delicate moment in the season, especially due to the large number of
points she needs to defend, and things haven’t gone well so far. The
20-year-old player couldn’t defend her title at the DC Open, as it coincided
with her participation in the Olympics, resulting in a loss of 500 points,
which added to the 890 points she lost for not defending her title in
Cincinnati.
This caused
her to drop to World No. 3 after being overtaken in the rankings by Aryna
Sabalenka. The 2023
US Open champion now has to defend her title in the last
Grand Slam of the year, arriving without much confidence, which could lead to
an even greater drop in the rankings, as an early exit could leave her outside
the top 5.
"I
feel really sad watching her at the moment, because I'm such a huge fan of her
tennis and the way she’s gone about her business,” Annabel Croft commented on
BBC. “I think she’s such a great communicator, not just in the world of tennis,
but also with fans outside the sport. She brings people to the sport."
"She’s
struggling. This is the biggest time, coming up to try to defend that US Open
title,” Croft said. “Every time I watch her now, she looks a little bit
burdened by the pressure and expectation."
Gauff beats Sabalenka to win her first Grand Slam title in 2023 US Open.
The former
British tennis player expressed that she has seen a progressive decline in
Gauff's level, as well as a sense of discomfort on the court: "What
happened at Wimbledon, where the forehand really went to pieces and broke
down—when you watch her play now, there’s an expression on her face that looks
worried. She just doesn’t look like she’s really enjoying her tennis."
"I
feel like that sort of pressure has been building for quite a few months. I’m
sure it’s been looming over her, coming back to the US Open. It’s always going
to be pressured for anyone trying to defend a big Grand Slam, her first Grand
Slam title,” Annabel Croft added.
"I
just feel like she’s struggling with it all, and she’s probably overthinking
everything on the court at the moment. When you have slight technical fragility
in your game, that becomes heightened when you’re under your most extreme
pressure."