Coco Gauff tries to reset expectations with one simple phrase

Coco Gauff is often a proverbial breath of fresh air. She seemingly is years older than her actual age of 20. She has an awareness that few people, let alone tennis players, have that might be three times her current age. She handles herself with poise and calm and this likely helps her win high-stress tennis matches when many other top players might fold.

According to a recent Time Magazine article, Gauff has had to maintain her poise well beyond the tennis court. When she was 12 and playing in a junior tournament in France, Gauff was abused by a group of Croatian boys who threw orange peels at her and called her a "monkey." It took one night for Gauff to get over the event that most people might never, and maybe should never, get past.

Gauff felt the issue stemmed one from ignorance and bias so why should she cave into the hate of others? She could rise above the incident. She was not at fault or guilty of anything so she was not about to let others steal her focus, happiness, and integrity. She was stronger than that.

Coco Gauff shows a wisdom most might never understand

While expectations about her winning might not come from the same origin of bias that the racism she faced in France did, some still have ridiculous perceptions of her. No player is going to win every event they enter nor even make it far into every tournament. Novak Djokovic, for instance, had a great 2023, but he lost a few tournaments early in the season as well as the final of Wimbledon.

Maybe a lot of the criticism thrown at Coco Gauff comes from people who never played a professional match. It is easy to think one should win all the time, but that is also unfair. That goes for both Gauff and her opponent. Professional tennis players play at a level most of us could never even dream of achieving.

Gauff told Time, "All the hate comes. People were like, ‘Oh, she’s burnt out, she’s this, she’s that.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God.' If I could win every match, I would. But I can’t. People don’t go to work and have a good day every day. We just have to all give each other grace."

Again, Gauff is only 20 but seemingly wise beyond her years. Knowing that people are not going to go to work every day and expect every day to be great is not only true but something maybe many are not aware that they should not expect. It is OK to have off days and not every day is going to be a success.

The truth is that most of Coco Gauff's good days are going to be at a higher level of success than many might ever know. Still, she works hard at being great. She deserves her best days.

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