"There is no reason to hit the panic button": Coco Gauff should look to bigger picture despite Siniakova loss says Coco Vandeweghe

Former world number nine CoCo Vandeweghe has urged America’s young tennis star Coco Gauff to not hit the panic button after a difficult outing in Doha.

The 19-year-old is often regarded as one the most highly-rated young tennis players currently playing in the women’s singles category. She lived up to the hype last year when she won the US Open after defeating the current world number two Aryna Sabalenka in the final with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Gauff had a disappointing outing in the ongoing Qatar Open where she was knocked out after losing in the round of 32 to the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4.

Vandeweghe was recently quoted in a report where she backed the youngster to return to her very best in the near future.

“There is nothing better than coming into the US swing of Indian Wells and Miami for Coco Gauff right now,” she said. “It is going to be really important for her to manage the expectations going forward into the rest of the year. It’s a long year, it’s a marathon not a sprint so I definitely agree that there is no reason to hit the panic button.

“Yes, you don’t want to go out early, especially at a 1000 event as they are few and far between and you really want to excel at those 1000s, but we have to manage the expectations of Coco Gauff. Yes, she is a Grand Slam champion, but she is still very young in her career.

“She needs to beat these players and not go down too much to these players because once these WTA players see a chink in the armour – as great as Coco is right now – they will pounce on those opportunities and won’t be afraid of her moving forward at the Grand Slams where everyone wants to play great tennis.”