Coco Gauff is one of the most prominent young stars in tennis, and it’s fantastic to see her growth. However, one thing could keep her from reaching superstardom — Coco is a closet perfectionist.
Tennis takes Coco Gauff to the highest of highs (beating Aryana Sabalenka) and lowest of lows (losing to Aryana Sabalenka four months later). Still, through it all, one thing remains constant. It isn’t Coco’s game. It’s not even the type of tennis racket she uses. It’s her kryptonite — perfectionism.
Per Abby Aguirre of Vogue Magazine, Coco has been working to subdue her need to be perfect, even when she wins, saying, “I’ve always known I was a perfectionist…It’s not like I’m saying, ‘Good job, Coco.’ It’s like, ‘Okay, why didn’t you do that sooner?'”
The euphoria @CocoGauff felt winning championship point at last year’s US Open—a moment that brought all of Arthur Ashe to its feet—is still indescribable. “For the rest of my life, the rest of my career,” she says, “I’m going to be chasing that high.” https://t.co/dkc6uTfnC2 pic.twitter.com/OBxCmIcrKB
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) March 6, 2024
thank you @voguemagazine for this amazing cover. it’s truly an honor and i am forever grateful for this opportunity ❤️✨ pic.twitter.com/D2jMiKJqXy
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) March 6, 2024
Candi Gauff, Coco’s mom, shared with Vogue that Coco’s perfectionism started young, and not even spelling competitions were safe. If CoCo missed one word, she wouldn’t let it go. That drive — that will be absolutely perfect — has pushed Coco into tennis royalty conversations, much like her idols Venus and Serena Williams.
Still, her new coach, ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert, who famously coached another perfectionist, Andre Agassi, wants her to remember one thing:
“I told her, ‘The pursuit of perfection doesn’t exist. It makes you miserable, chasing it. And you’re never satisfied with being good.’ She’s just always gotta be better. Andre was the same. And it’s like, ‘You only gotta be better than the lady on the other side of the net.’ That’s it. This whole being-better-than-you-need-to-be costs you a lot of matches.”
