Coco Gauff Reflects on Being “Taken for Granted” During Her Early Years on Tour

Coco Gauff knows exactly how dangerous a teenager with nothing to lose can be because she used to be one. Gauff broke onto the WTA Tour at 15 and quickly became a teenage sensation, often catching older opponents off guard. Now, she is not giving the next generation the same opening. The world No. 4 is 19-2 against teenagers on tour, and her latest win followed the same script.

“I think because people made my age such a thing when I was younger, I feel like, if anything, I don’t take their age for granted. Sometimes I felt people on tour when I was younger took me for granted because of my age, and that’s how I was able to sneak a lot of wins sometimes. And so because I had that experience, I know not to take their age for granted,” Gauff replied during the conference.

“Just because they’re young, knowing that they’re not going to shy away from the spotlight or be nervous or anything like that. So I feel like, if anything, it makes me just stay on my toes even more, especially playing someone that I’ve never played before.” 

When Gauff was a teenager, established players could look across the net and see a young, inexperienced opponent who should have been easier to beat. That worked in her favor. With less pressure on her and more expectations on the player across the net, Gauff could play freely and catch opponents off guard. She had already learned how dangerous that advantage could be, which is why she now refuses to give younger players the same opening.

In the round of 16 at the National Bank Open, Gauff beat 19-year-old Alina Korneeva in straight sets, then explained how her own experience as a young player affects the way she approaches unfamiliar teenage opponents. In Korneeva’s case, Gauff admitted she did not know much about her beyond her junior results.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, and I didn’t watch a lot of her matches. I watched her when she was in juniors. I know she had good junior results, but I hadn’t watched her on tour. So today I just really felt on my toes, and that’s kind of how it always is when you’re playing youngsters who maybe you don’t see as much on tour. And then I’m sure next year she’s going to be a regular,” Gauff stated.

That win over Korneeva, 6-3, 6-1, sent Gauff into the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open in Toronto without having dropped a set through three matches, a run that has her preparing directly for the US Open later this month.

She now faces 12th seed Belinda Bencic for a place in the semi-finals, a rematch of their fourth-round meeting at this year’s Wimbledon, where Gauff came through on her way to a career-best run at the All England Club.

Before beating Alina Korneeva, Gauff defeated Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 in the third round, where she also shared a lighter moment with a fan in the crowd. The fan’s words of encouragement, including “Keep it up,” caught Gauff’s attention because his way of speaking reminded her of her father, Corey, who was also her first tennis coach. The familiar encouragement brought a smile to her face.

“There was someone in the crowd who reminded me of my father. I don’t know why, but he barely said anything. He just said, ‘Go, compañera’ or ‘Keep it up, compañera.’ His way of speaking sounded exactly like my father’s, so of course, it made me smile.”

The American first announced herself to the tennis world in 2019, becoming the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history at 15 years old and stunning Venus Williams in the first round before reaching the fourth round on her debut at the All England Club. In the same year, she captured her first WTA title in Linz and became the youngest champion on tour since 2004. 

Since then, she has won two Grand Slams, the first coming at the 2023 US Open and the second at last year’s French Open, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The results carried her to a career-high ranking of world No. 2 and cemented her place as one of the marquee players on the tour before turning 22.

But while Gauff has already checked off some of the biggest milestones in tennis, one thing is still missing from her 2026 season, a title. Toronto now gives her another chance to change that.

Can the title curse break in Toronto?

Toronto certainly gives Gauff one of her best chances of the year to turn her consistency into a trophy, with the 2026 season still missing a title.

She’s 31-12 for the year and ranked world No. 4 – has advanced to a quarter-final of the Australian Open, a final at the Miami and the Italian Open, a first-time Wimbledon semi-final, but a title eludes her. The last title dates back to 14 months ago, her French Open triumph in 2025. It has been a frustrating drought but not without good signs. 

Grass had been a real problem for her before this year. After reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2024, she did not have any wins on grass for two years till 2026 Wimbledon. That run ended agonizingly close to the final itself, with Gauff holding a match point at 9-8 in a deciding-set tie-break against Karolina Muchova, only to miss a forehand drop shot at the net that let her opponent back into the match. Muchova finished it off, as Gauff looked back at the thin margin between a tough season and her first Wimbledon final. 

Now she has a familiar test in Toronto with her draw. Gauff leads her head-to-head with Belinda Bencic 6-2, including a win over the Swiss in the fourth round at this year’s Wimbledon, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, on her way to that semi-final run.

What once made Gauff an unpredictable young threat has now become part of her edge as an established star.

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