Coco Gauff isn’t exactly in her prime as she seeks to defend her US Open title this season. With naysayers commenting on the young talent’s loss of form, the American is battling it on all fronts. Witnessing high expectations and tensions mounting, Gauff has come up with a message for every non-believer. This, in turn, has taken a prominent sports journalist by surprise.

The reigning Flushing Meadows champion is facing trouble maintaining her on-court formidability. A shadow of her former self, the 20-year-old has faced early exits at every appearance she’s made since her French Open campaign. With disappointing losses racking up, the tennis community has been a bit blatant about her chances in New York. However, the American ace has formulated a plan to shut down all haters.

Ahead of her Flushing Meadows run, the World No. 3 has furnished herself with an inspirational quote riding on the back of her latest American Eagle collection. The quote that read, “Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me”, drew support from Jon Wertheim who said, “I’m glad that Gauff has found motivation wherever she finds”. However, bewildered after acknowledging her thoughts, the journalist notably took a sly dig at naysayers doubting her. Wertheim reiterated his thoughts saying that Gauff’s talent has never ceased to uplift herself despite enduring unsettling performances in the past weeks.

He said, “My question, who are the doubters? Who are the haters? This is a wildly popular player and I think most people are very bullish on her present and her future. I don’t quite get it to be honest. This is a player who gets as close to uniform support. But this is what motivates her, great. I’m just struck by how different the circumstances are.”

The media veteran further added, “Last year, she had the pre-tournament pick, she had all this momentum, this year she has lost 3 of her last matches, 16 of the last 18 points she’s played, and yet she’s still exuding this confidence. I was in that press conference the other day and she was all smiles and she used the word ‘disguised blessing’. But I think Coco as defending champion, very different set of circumstances from last year, but I think she is one of the favorites despite this middling these past few weeks.”

After a troublesome summer, Gauff is actively hunting for her top form as she opens her US Open defense. Moreover, the World No. 3 also highlighted her takeaways for the New York event after suffering a shock defeat in Cincy.

Coco Gauff aims to “take the positive” from her recent string of losses

Things have gone downhill for Coco Gauff. The American is entering the hardcourt Slam on the back of an 8-5 win-loss record since her Roland Garros adventure. To make matters worse, she lost to Russian rising star, Yulia Putintseva, a lower-ranked player in the second round (her first match) at the Cincinnati Masters. This isn’t exactly the type of momentum the World No. 3 wants to take at the season’s final Grand Slam event. However, she has mustered a healthy mindset and looks forward to retaining her composure on the Tour.

“I’ll try to take the positive out of it and do better next time. I have time. I want to win now because I’m used to winning so early, but I think I’ve taken a step back and realized I have another 10 years in this sport, so I want to enjoy it,” said Gauff.

For those unaware, the young talent will open play against France’s Varvara Gracheva in her first match at the US Open on Monday, August 26. With all eyes focused on her, it’ll be interesting to witness if the American pro is up for a testing two-week challenge in New York.