"I'm not going to let anybody write me off" - Coco Gauff on using vitriol from doubters to cap season with WTA Finals victory

Tuesday, 12 November 2024 at 02:30

American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff added another accolade to her impressive resume following her victory at the 2024 WTA Finals, and the 20-year old later disclosed how she used the doubt from her critics as motivation to end her season on a high note.

The Atlanta native was in red-hot form during the season-ending event in Riyadh, defeating Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka en route to the final. Gauff faced China's Qinwen Zheng for the title on Saturday, rallying from a set down to win her biggest title this season.

Her performance was fueled by her critics, admits Gauff

The 2023 US Open champion went through a slump during the North American hard court season, winning only one match before heading to Flushing Meadows to defend her title. Gauff fell in the round of 16 to compatriot Emma Navarro, and later spoke about how she used the negativity from her detractors to push herself even further.

"I remember after my loss in Cincinnati, they have the TV on Tennis Channel in the locker room," Gauff said after the WTA Finals. "I couldn't hear what they were saying but the headline was like 'Gauff's Slump Summer' or something like that.
"I looked at that and I was just like, 'Dang, I have to turn it around somehow'. And then I lost a pretty tough match against Emma [Navarro] at the US Open. A lot of people were critiquing my season, you know, 'flop era.'
"I know all the Twitter terms. I think for me it was just motivation. I'm the author of my own story, and I'm not going to let anybody write me off."

muah 💋💜 Also, I know tend to focus on “doubters/haters” but this one is really for all of my supporters! Ya’ll held it down for me win or lose! I thank you for that. I see you and I appreciate you. And I know some of you are a little bit petty like me so it does feel nice to… pic.twitter.com/z3rRFCsFYl
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) November 10, 2024

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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