US Open champion Coco Gauff sends a message to her eight-year-old self… seen dancing in the stands of Arthur Ashe Stadium: ‘Don’t lose that dream’
US Open champion Coco Gauff has opened up about the incredible video of her, aged just eight, dancing at Arthur Ashe Stadium, saying she would tell that young girl: ‘Don’t lose that dream!’
Gauff won her first Grand Slam title on Saturday with a three-set win over Aryna Sabalenka, four years after breaking through with a remarkable run at Wimbledon at the age of 15.
The video, which features Gauff dancing to “Call Me Maybe” on Ashe, resurfaced during her run to this year’s finals.
After returning to the 24,000-seat stadium to win the biggest title of her career, Gauff was asked what she would say to that girl if she could talk to her right now.
“She had the dream, but I don’t know if she fully believed in it,” the champion said.
Recently, a video surfaced of Gauff dancing to Arthur Ashe’s “Call Me Maybe.”
Gauff won a first Grand Slam title with a three-set victory over Aryna Sabalenka on the same court
After her US Open victory, Gauff said: “I would tell her, ‘Don’t lose the dream. Keep having fun.’
‘As a child you have so many dreams. You know, as you get older, sometimes it can fade away. I would tell her, ‘Don’t lose that dream.’
Gauff admitted that there have been times over the past four years when her own mind wavered.
“Honestly, I felt like I lost a little bit of the dream as this journey went on,” she said.
“I would tell her, ‘Don’t lose the dream. Keep having fun.’ As you can see in the video, I loved being at Ashe, whether it was in the crowd or on the field.
“So I would tell her, ‘Just keep working hard and keep believing in that dream and don’t let the doubters diminish it.’
Gauff will move up to a new career-high ranking of No. 3 after winning her home major. She has long been tipped for her stardom, but the 19-year-old says it was those childhood trips to Flushing Meadows that sparked her fantasy of winning Grand Slam titles.
The 19-year-old was overcome with emotion after beating Sabalenka in Saturday’s final
Gauff will move to a new career-high ranking of No. 3 after winning her home major
“I think the first one was when I was eight and I would come – about three times, three or four years in a row – to attend Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day and I was just watching players compete on this field,” she said.
“When I was 13, I think, or 14 when I played in the US Open juniors, I saw the men’s final that year, so I had those images of myself then.”
Gauff also had to overcome defeat at the French Open last year, when she was handily beaten by Iga Swiatek.
“I don’t know if they caught it on camera, but I saw Iga lift that trophy, and I was looking at her the whole time. I said, ‘I’m not going to take my eyes off her because I want to feel what that felt like for her,'” Gauff recalled.
‘That felt like madness today when I received this trophy. It hasn’t sunk in yet and I think it probably will in a week or so.’