Coco Gauff is seemingly going through an existential crisis. The young talent has been plagued by poor form that has thwarted her gold medal dream run at the Paris Olympics. Since then, there’s been an immense increase in her string of losses. The American’s chance at restoring her form before the commencement of the US Open went in vain. Luckily for her, a former WTA professional has imparted words of wisdom to her!

After enduring a premature end to her Olympic campaign, Gauff turned her focus toward the WTA 1000 events that led to the Flushing Meadows Slam. Despite portraying a valiant effort at the Canadian Open, the 20-year-old suffered an early exit at the hands of a much lower-ranked player. Later, she was unable to defend her title at the Cincinnati Masters, wherein she stumbled upon a similar fate. Subsequently, 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Monica Puig laid bare her expectations for Gauff at the US Open, where she is slated to be the defending champion.

In seated for a live telecast with the ‘Tennis Channel’ on August 20, the Puerto Rican called for a “mental reset” for the American. The 30-year-old further highlighted that the World No. 3 needs to focus on her on-court niches and flip the page to start with a ‘fresh’ mindset to defend her USO crown.

She said, “I would love to see her make a mental reset. We know the type of tennis she is capable of playing. She needs to focus on serving well, playing the aggressive game style. But, maybe put the US Open and what happened last year behind and start fresh and just build from there.“

A mental reset is exactly what Gauff has planned for herself. After a defeat at the hands of Yulia Putinsteva in the Cincinnati Open R32, Gauff decided to skip the post-match presser. As per Ben Rothenburg, Gauff skipped the presser but had a Q&A with the tournament organizers. She plans “to go home and try to reset.” 

Ironically, before Puig addressed the importance of a mental break for the American, Gauff touched down on a similar opinion in Cincy.

Coco Gauff aims to restore ‘consistency‘ ahead of her New York title defense

Coco Gauff touched down at the Cincinnati Masters on the back four tour-level losses to lower-ranked players. Though her inconsistent performance dates back to the French Open, her 2R loss at the hardcourt event provided her with an insight into her shortcomings. After concluding her Cincy run, the American voiced for a ‘reset‘ and further aimed to reimpose her former self while talking to the reporters.

She said, “I feel like I have to work on consistency, overall. I’ll probably go home and try to reset.” Moreover, she also pointed out what led to her below-par performance against her opponent. “I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 (in the third set). I think most of the points she won were off my errors.”

Unfortunately, Gauff’s exit from Cincy cost her World No. 2 ranking. Notably, she dropped one spot to No. 3 this week, switching places with Aryna Sabalenka. In summary, it will be crucial for the American to find her way back to glory. Any further discrepancies in performance can cost her rankings more and quash her title defense in New York.