Getty Coco Gauff during a practice session for the 2024 Australian Open.
As the 2024 Australian Open begins, Coco Gauff is ready to use what she learned from winning her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 U.S. Open to help her achieve her newest goal of winning at least 10 grand slam titles, starting with this year’s Australian Open.
In the Australian Open’s Pre-Event Press Conference, the American tennis star told reporters that “double digits would be pretty awesome” when asked about the number of grand slam titles she hopes to one day earn. “I don’t know if it will happen, but I think that’s a high goal. I think setting my goals high pushes me beyond what I think I can do,” Gauff said.
Coco Gauff’s 2023 Journey is Shaping Her 2024 Season
While Gauff still likes to dream big and push herself when it comes to her tennis success, she recently learned an important lesson in the 2023 season.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that tennis is, if more than anything, a mental game,” Gauff said. This realization helped Gauff understand the importance of letting go of the pressure to win. Instead, she is focusing on the process and taking things one match at a time.
Gauff shared that it was this mindset shift that helped her play freer, trust herself more on the court, and ultimately achieve her first Grand Slam title.
2023 is season officially over. hard to sum of this season in a few words. I saw my darkest and brightest days of my life this year. I am proud of myself. God’s plan❤️
Now that she enters the Australian Open as a Grand Slam Champion, Gauff says she plans to “focus on improving with each match” and use this mindset shift in hopes of paving her way to double-digit grand slam titles.
Looking at Gauff’s First AO Match With Her New Mindset
Coco Gauff heads into this year’s Australian Open as the No. 4 seed, giving her a bit more of an edge compared to last year’s position as the No. 7 seed. In her first match, Gauff will face No. 67 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Sunday, January 15 at 8:00 pm in the Rod Laver Arena.
This is not a new match-up for Gauff as the American teen holds a 2-0 lead against Slovakia’s Schmiedlova, a former Top 30 player, according to Tennis Magazine. Gauff first faced and defeated Schmiedlova in the 2022 Madrid Open and defeated her again in straight sets at the 2023 French Open.
For Gauff to emerge victorious over Schmiedlova once more, she will need to use her new mindset shift to focus on playing free and aggressive, which is a style she utilized heavily in last year’s Australian Open against Emma Raducanu and just last week in the 2024 Auckland Classic.
Following her clean semifinal win against Emma Navarro at the 2024 Auckland Classic, Gauff interviewed with ESPN and told reporters that she was focusing on “just being aggressive with [her] serve and return.”
Following Along Gauff’s AO Journey
Coco Gauff’s seeding places her in the lower half of the draw alongside her former opponent and 2023 U.S. Open finalist, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka. This bottom half pairing could potentially lead to a U.S. Open rematch taking place in the semifinals if both players win their first five matches.
According to ESPN, you can watch Gauff’s match and all of the 2024 Australian Open on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+. To keep up with Gauff’s live match scores and all of the 2024 Australian Open live match scores, download the Australian Open app.