"There is probably a lot of players who need to take a break who don't": Gauff believes Anisimova should be supported in tennis break

Coco Gauff expressed her opinion that everyone should support Amanda Anisimova during her tennis break.

The recent champion of the Cincinnati Open is about to make her debut at the US Open, where she starts as the sixth seed and one of the favorites after winning her first WTA 500 and WTA 1000 titles in the past weeks in the US Open Series tournaments.

The 19-year-old young tennis player talked about Amanda Anisimova's situation, who, at the age of 21, decided to take a break for mental health reasons in May of this year. Gauff has previously shown concern about mental health and shared her surprise when she learned about her fellow American's decision to take a break.

“I’d say when she announced the initial break, I was surprised. I don't think anybody was expecting it or anything. But I can understand really. There is probably a lot of players who need to take a break who don't take a break,”

“She had a lot to deal with with the loss of her dad. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he started her in tennis. I was really surprised personally how she was able to be able to continue to play. I think that's a thing people forget, that she's human, athletes are human,” Gauff added.

“Everybody needs a break from everything. Maybe college has always been one of her aspirations, I don't know. I think as long as she's happy & healthy, I think everybody should support her decision.”

Gauff and Anisimova have faced each other twice on the WTA tour, with their head-to-head record tied at 1-1. They also met in the final of the US Open Juniors in 2017, where Anisimova, who was 16 years old at the time, secured a dominant victory over the then 13-year-old Gauff with a score of 6-2, 6-0.

Now, Coco Gauff is one of the primary hopes for her country to clinch the US Open title and will begin the tournament against a player from the qualifying rounds. Gauff aims to surpass her best performance at Flushing Meadows, where she reached the quarterfinals in 2022 but was defeated by Caroline Garcia.