American tennis star Coco Gauff has had a rapid rise in rankings recently. The 18-year-old has performed consistently and made it to the latter stages of many tournaments. After her quarterfinal run in the US Open, the American next appeared in the San Diego Open. Here, the world number 7 had a good run again and made it to the quarterfinal. However, she crashed out after losing to Iga Swiatek.
With all that fame and success in tennis, money follows. However, the 18-year-old believes that money is not at all something she thought about before choosing tennis as a career. Here’s what she said.
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Money doesn’t matter for Gauff
Playing in the San Diego Open, Gauff was off to a flying start. She defeated her compatriot Robin Montgomery in straight sets. Later, the 18-year-old interacted with the media in a post-match interview. Here she spoke about her motivation for playing tennis and how money is not one of them.
“To be honest, I don’t look at it (tennis) as a job, particularly because I love what I do. I would say the most surprising is definitely the money part. It’s not something I look at and pay attention to. To be honest, I guess more so now because I’m transferring into adulthood,” Gauff said.
She further added, “I always say that money can buy temporary happiness, not true happiness. Tennis makes me truly happy and I would do it even if we are paid five dollars to play, because this is what I love as long as I had made enough to maybe pay for my training and all that I would be fine.”
Coco Gauff attends TwitchCon event
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Coco Gauff has done pretty well for herself in tennis this year. While it all looks shiny, there’s a lot of pressure that comes with it. However, the 18-year-old has always maintained a perfect balance between her personal and professional life.
Apart from tennis, the American also has an interest in streaming and content creation. This drew her attention to the three-day TwitchCon event. Here, the world number 7, she met her favorite streamer Valkyrae.
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Watch this story: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, and Others In The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis
As per Gauff, engaging in other activities such as gaming helps her perform better in tennis. After achieving success in the early stage of their careers, we have seen many tennis stars lose focus and struggle later on with their mental health like Osaka. The American tennis sensation Gauff, on the other hand, has managed to maintain her momentum in the sport while living an overall happy life off the court.