It takes courage to go back to a place where you once had your dreams shattered. Coco Gauff did exactly that. When she entered the 2022 French Open finals, she was only 18. Nervous yet brave, she went up against the then world number 1 Iga Swiatek, riding a 34-match win streak. The Polish star made it 35 with a 6–1, 6–3. But that did not break Coco and only made her strong enough to go claim the 2023 US Open against Aryna Sabalenka to become the youngest American to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999. And the inspiration behind this?
Then she went back to Paris. The place where her dreams were shattered as an 18-year-old. Coco Gauff, once again in the finals of the 2025 French Open, once again facing Aryna Sabalenka. Redemption vs Revenge. Gauff lost the first round by 6-7. But we only fall to rise back up. She then went on the win the next two rounds with a scoreline of 6-2 and 6-4, ultimately lifting the cup to become the first American player to win a singles title at the French Open since Serena Williams (2015). But to go back to Paris, where once she had a significant loss, and then losing the first round and bouncing back takes a lot of courage.
In the post-match press conference, the tennis star talked about the fuel behind this feat. Goaff said, “Yeah, with the fighting spirit, I think it’s something that, you know, I’ve, you know, I’ve had naturally, but trying to be more positive is something I had to work on, and yeah, I’m really happy with how I’m able to reset and be positive and try my best to give, you know, the best mentality to show up, and people from other sports that I’ve looked up to, Sydney McLaughlin is someone that I really like and look up to in that way, Simone Biles, I think she just pushes herself.”
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