ROLAND GARROS

May 22, 2022

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/R. MARINO

7-5, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Good match, two very different score lines on the sets. Can you just talk us through it a little bit.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, the first set I was obviously very nervous coming in. The past two years I played qualifiers first round, which for me is always a difficult first round because they have three matches and especially playing against Rebecca who can hit some great shots and I think I just found my rhythm more towards the second set.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. I want to talk about your thoughts on your second round opponent and what you know exactly about her?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, she's been on tour for awhile and I know that she's a great player, she can hit some big serves and some big shots and honestly I haven't really thought about the match, really, but I think, yeah, I'll talk to my coach more about her tomorrow.

Q. On that match, you had to save a lot of break points in that first set and she had a lot of pressure on you. Can you talk about what you think you did well on those pressure points and on those big moments to keep her at bay?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, obviously some of the service games I kind of double faulted a lot. So it was a combination of her playing good tennis and me giving away some free points on the serve. I think I was just trying just to stay in it. I was definitely thinking a little bit on the serve and then I think in the second set I was just trusting my instincts more.

The last match on that court I think that I played I lost, and it was because I hit like a lot of double faults, so I was having little flashbacks of that (laughing).

Q. What was going on with the chat with the umpire about coaching? What was it about?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think well she was saying that my dad was showing signals, but for me I was telling explaining to her that me and my dad have no signals of anything. Like, countless times after the match I just tell him just to say nothing. So even when there's coaching allowed I tell him, Don't say anything to me.

And then, yeah, I was just asking her, like, what signals that he's showing, because, like, for me, I don't see anything. But she told me she was telling me to be careful because some of his signals or whatever he was doing with his hands could be interpreted as coaching and I was just letting her know that I can't tell him not to do what he's doing with his hands because we have no coaching.

But at the end of the day she was just doing her job and then I was just doing my job I guess as a player and defending my integrity and, yeah, so, yeah, for me it was just funny because I have had so many conversations with my dad that when there's coaching allowed I tell him, Don't say anything. So that's kind of why I was laughing a little bit in that conversation.

Q. You have just graduated, so congratulations. What was it like having to balance your tennis career and your studies, why did you think it was important to complete your education when you've already had a successful career in tennis at such a young age?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, for me education and my family is very important, both my parents graduated college and my grandmothers are both teachers and I have a whole family really full of teachers. So, yeah, I think for high school, I mean college, I'm just going to think about that later on, but for now, yeah, I finishing high school was important to me. I mean, I know like on tour a lot of players don't always do that because you have tennis, but for me like tennis is like what I do, but there's other interests that I have outside of tennis and definitely having knowledge on that can help me indulge in them more.

Q. I want to know, a follow-up on that, what would you like to study and if you can tell me about tennis what's the most challenging on playing for you on playing on clay?

COCO GAUFF: Well what I would like to study in college, honestly, I have no idea yet. I mean, my dad really wants me to learn business, which obviously that can help me a lot. For me I like communications, so something easy, I'm not planning on getting a Masters or anything (laughing), but my parents obviously want that for me, but I told them, Look, if I do decide to do college, it's going to be really minimum (laughing).

Q. And about the clay?

COCO GAUFF: The clay, oh, yeah. I mean, I love clay, I have good results on clay all the time. I think it really suits my game and, yeah, I think that French Open is, like, leading up to these tournaments into the French Open, I think each tournament I was playing better and better.

Q. Have you ever had a coaching warning before in your career?

COCO GAUFF: No, that was the first time. But actually, well I didn't get a warning, but what, like, that, I remember the first tournament, I can't remember what city, Lexington, it wasn't really a coaching warning, we just got the rules, like, that's when coaching was first allowed on tour and I got confused, like, we could walk up and talk to the coach. And then she said, no, they can coach you, but you can't talk to them. But that was the first tournament, so I don't really count that because I was just confused on the rule. But, yeah, that was my first time, that's why I was laughing.

Q. That's an odd situation for a father.

COCO GAUFF: (Laughing) Yeah. And I was like and, yeah, my dad, like, I always tell him, like even, like after matches that I win, I'm, like, I just want you to sit there and be quiet. We had so many arguments on this. That's why I was, like, laughing I was like, if it was my coach Diego, maybe, because we just started, but we don't have anything, but maybe I would believe it more.

But because of my dad I just literally tell him, Don't move, don't do anything, don't go like this, nothing, just sit there and clap (laughing).

Q. Following up on that, what's that like then when your dad does maybe want to say something? Is that annoying?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah. (Laughing) Yeah, most of the time that's why my mom tries to come to the big tournaments because like a lot of times when she noticed, like, because, like, my dad has very, like, reactions, it's not really that he's thinking what he's doing, so maybe he's, like, going like this after I lose or like this and my mom is, like, rubbing his leg trying to tell him to stop or sometimes my mom is like this, like, she's nervous.

So, yeah, really, I mean, I look their direction, but a lot of times I'm not even looking at them I'm looking at the people above them, which is maybe just a random stand, like, random people in the stands.

Q. Also, earlier you mentioned that you played qualifiers before and you've been, this is your third season maybe.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah.

Q. Curious what does it feel like to have that bit of experience now and to draw upon?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, for sure. I think even last year that match could have been a completely different situation, even in that first set. I mean it's one of those matches that one of my strengths is my serve and sometimes when your strength isn't working you tend to freak out and I think today I did a good job of not freaking out.

Q. You mentioned on court today the Heat. What do you love about basketball, it's so athletic and can you compare it with tennis, just talk about how amazing that sport is.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, I actually did do basketball for a little bit. That was my dad's dream, not mine. Tennis was my dream. But, yeah, he said all his kids had to play basketball at least once.

So really the year I made the final of US Open Juniors I was playing, still playing basketball and track at the same time. So, yeah, in that sport, I mean for me, like, I don't know, it was just so interesting playing a team sport and I think that it taught me the importance of not being too harsh on yourself.

For me I'm a very sometimes I am almost too harsh on myself and critique myself too much. And having teammates tell you, It's okay, you're good, on the court it taught me to try to be my best teammate and it's something that I try to remember. But, yeah, basketball and the physicality obviously, very similar to tennis on changing direction. I was really good on defense. I couldn't shoot to save my life, but defense I was on and because it's the change of direction, like, and guarding people, like, I was really good at that.

But, yeah I was the defensive player, I was a Draymond Green. No offense to him. (Laughing).

Q. Do you like his fire and his intensity, Draymond?

COCO GAUFF: Yes, yeah, yeah. Yeah, definitely, and he kinds of probably played like my dad did a little bit, at least his mentality, yeah, I like his mentality and his fire on the basketball court.

Q. Did you get asked about the coaching thing?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I did.

Q. How did you manage to stay sort of so calm during it, because having that kind of come out of nowhere for you, just like keeping your composure, what was the key to that?

COCO GAUFF: Really, I don't know, I feel like in practice like I always have so much going on so, like, whether it's my brothers on the court, me arguing with them, telling them to stay off the court while I'm practicing or something.

So really, and, I mean, it's bad, but we weren't arguing, but, like, I enjoy confrontation a little bit on court, so I feel like it fuels me a little bit, even though, like I said, the ref was doing her job and I have nothing like against her and I'm not really mad at the situation at all, but, yeah, I think it kind of helped me a little bit because, like, literally and between and middle of the points I was, like, thinking about that. I was, like, I can't believe this happened, in my head, and then I won the point. And I was like, I need to think about this the whole match and I kind of did the second set.

Q. On the school question, curious what was your favorite subject, what subject are you very much looking forward to never seeing again and then also doing the schooling while being a pro tennis player, do you remember a particularly tricky or stressful moment where the both kind of collided a little bit?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, my favorite subject was definitely probably, actually, I don't know, probably English or history. I really enjoy writing and that's something I like doing and then history well, the certain time periods I enjoy learning more than others. But World War I and World War II are probably my favorite things to learn about, especially with traveling the world you can kind of see where things happened.

And, yeah, with schooling and balancing schooling and tennis it was honestly very difficult, just because like I feel like tennis or at least in Grand Slams in particular you get, well, for me personally I get more mentally exhausted than physically. Like physically, like, I can play like 20 more matches and mentally I'm, like, I'm barely grinding through this.

So I think adding school to that was definitely a toll and I was so thankful that the teachers that I did have were very understanding of when I didn't submit work for a couple weeks and they never really bothered me, they knew I was playing.

So I'm very thankful for them because that could have been a lot more stressful if they weren't as understanding, which they probably could have been more because there was a lot of weeks I went without submitting work, but I got it done.

Q. And your least favorite subject?

COCO GAUFF: Definitely math. I hated that. I'm so glad it's over. Yeah, and I know that it's something that you need every day. My dad is a math guy. He's like, You need to be good at math, and I'm like, Dad, listen, that's just something that I'm not going to do. There's a calculator for a reason and there's all these apps for a reason. You can, if you want to figure it out on paper, you do it. (Laughing.)