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American teenage sensation Coco Gauff has a strong support system, which includes her parents, French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, and her management agency Team8 founded by Tony Godsick and Roger Federer.
With such a team surrounding her, Gauff does not often need to rely on outside guidance. But the 17-year-old has revealed that some of the best advice she has received has come from those outside her inner circle.
Speaking to the media after her third-round win over Kaja Juvan, the American teen revealed how advice from Michelle Obama, the former United States First Lady, helped her following her 2019 breakthrough.
'Honestly, the best advice I received, there's a couple. One of them was actually from Mrs. Obama," Gauff said. "I got requests from everyone, every which way, I found myself not being able to keep up. I really went from not being known to everybody wanting something. She told me it was okay to say no. That's one thing I guess helped my mentality and me emotionally and mentally off the court."
Gauff exploded onto the scene as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon just two years ago, when she became the youngest player in the Open Era to reach the main draw through qualifying.
She stunned five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round en route to the last 16. Since then, Gauff has been earmarked for superstardom, and her public profile skyrocketed during the Black LivesMatter movement last year.
Gauff, who reached her first Grand Slam singles quarter-final at the French Open last month, also said the best on-court advice she received was to go easy on herself. But the American refused to name the player who gave her the advice.
"On court, the best advice I received - because I am really hard on myself, which pretty much every athlete is. That's good if they're hard on themselves. Also told me you got to give yourself a pat on the back sometimes when you do something good," she said.
"Even though it's such a simple thing, it's something that really stuck with me. When I started to look back on my matches, look back on the film, I did notice I wasn't always as positive to myself as I can be on the court."
"Roger definitely has a big influence on my mentality on and off the court" - Coco Gauff on Federer
On Manic Monday, Coco Gauff will take to Center Court ahead of 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer for the third round in a row. Gauff is scheduled to play former champion Angelique Kerber in the second match of the day and will be followed by Federer, who meets 23rd seed Lorenzo Sonego.
During her press conference, Gauff was asked how she felt playing on the same court as one of the greatest players of all time. The American responded by saying she was aware Federer would be following her on the court, which partly contributed to her nerves during her second-round win over Elena Vesnina.
"Part of the reason I was so nervous in my second-round match on Centre is because I saw Roger was following me again. Today I wasn't really nervous going in. I don't know why I was so nervous on my second round," she said.
"I like to think of it as opening up for me. You know how concerts, they have a big artist, then a smaller artist come before them. That's what I kind of like to think of it as. It's pretty cool."
Gauff is represented by Team8, the agency that manages Federer and in which he owns a stake. Thus, the American has more than just a casual relationship with the 20-time Grand Slam champion. Gauff revealed she is able to approach Federer when she needs advice.
"Roger definitely has a big influence on my mentality on and off the court. He's always someone that I can go and talk to if I need advice. He's such a class act and someone that I looked up to," she said. "It's super nice that I'm able to open up for him if that's the right terminology I use. Hopefully if I can keep opening up for him, hopefully we can keep winning till the end."
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