After Coco Gauff’s inspiring run to the US Open title last year, she is looking to another woman for inspiration: Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gauff said it doesn’t matter who you vote for or whether you vote at all.
Speaking at a stadium named after Arthur Ashe, just a few hundred yards from a statue of Althea Gibson, she called the candidacy of Harris – the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants – a sign of progress on the racial issue.
“It’s really incredible. No matter who you vote for, who you stand for, it’s really incredible to see how far this country has come for people of color and Black people,” Gauff said. “It’s really inspiring to see someone on that ballot. Honestly, it takes the work of many others to pave the way, and I’m happy that I get to see this in my lifetime because I know many others haven’t had that chance.”
Gauff met with former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle en route to their victory at last year’s US Open, her first Grand Slam title.
This victory also earned her a brief congratulatory meeting with Harris, although the 20-year-old would have liked to have had a longer conversation with Harris as she wants to become the first female US president.
“It’s crazy to see how someone can be one of us and then become president,” Gauff said. “I know her mother was an immigrant and … it’s crazy to see how someone can be one of us and then become president of the United States – or vice president of the United States.”
“I just asked them about their story and what the milestones were along the way, because I think almost every kid has said at some point that they were going to be the next president of the United States. … I’m sure by the time I was 4 or 5, I was thinking I was going to be the next president or the Queen of England or something crazy like that.”
Instead, Gauff had to “settle” for being the queen of the US Open, crowned by last year’s victory that made her the first American teenager to win the award since Serena Williams in 1999.
She will begin her title defense against Varvara Gracheva.
“Of course it’s a little bit of pressure to compete as the defending champion, but it’s also a privilege because my new motto is: If you’re defending, it means you’ve won something before,” said Gauff, who adopted a new mantra after seeing a recent comment on her TikTok. “It said, ‘You won literally and figuratively; why would you stress so much about a victory lap?'”
“I thought, this is actually a good perspective. Nobody can take this away from me, so why should I be upset about something I already have? I just want to add to it. Whether that happens here in two weeks or next year here or in Australia or wherever, it doesn’t make sense. So I saw this three days ago and I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to stick with it and use it because it really changed my perspective when I came here.'”
Gauff comes to Flushing after a year of ups and downs.
She reached the semifinals of the French and Australian Opens, but screamed at her coach Brad Gilbert as she was eliminated in tears in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
She also lost her opening match in Cincinnati because her opponents specifically targeted her forehand and forced her to make mistakes.
But Gauff, who has been scouted as “the next Serena” since she was 15, says the athletes she met at the Paris Olympics (like three-time gold medalist Gabby Thomas) have given her comfort and helped her realize that the stress she feels is not unique.
“You realize that nervousness and pressure are completely normal,” said Gauff. “It doesn’t make it any easier, but I think it helps to know that you are not carrying the burden alone.”
Zheng Qinwen motivated herself for the gold medal in Paris by watching videos of former hurdler Liu Xiang: “I was so inspired by the music and the moment when he won and became champion because he has a yellow skin color and it is difficult to beat the dark-skinned people in this sport because they are simply genetically very well predisposed for this explosive sport.”
