“The best year of my career so far” - Coco Gauff reviews her 2023 tennis season

Reflecting on her 2022 season, Coco Gauff took pride in her achievements and called it the best year of her young career.

The 18-year-old had a spectacular campaign last year. She reached her maiden Grand Slam in singles and her second Major doubles final, entered the top 5 of the WTA singles rankings, and became the World No. 1 in doubles.

In a conversation with Her Way, Gauff looked back at her 2022 season and said:

"It was a really good year. I mean, you know, when you experience those down parts of losing a Grand Slam final and losing those tough matches, it makes you feel like you didn't do good."

She added:

"But I guess if you look at it overall, it was definitely an amazing year for me, the best year of my career so far. And I think that's kind of what I want. I want every year to do the best year of my career so far, and like, that's what I love to see."

The World No. 6 came very close to winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open when Iga Swiatek defeated her in the title match in Paris. Despite falling at the final hurdle, the American teenager has made peace with the result as she believes that one can learn from both victory and defeat. She said:

"I learned a lot and had a lot of ups, had a lot of downs but I think I've learned from both the ups and downs. And I think that's the most important thing. You can't win everything, but you can learn from everything."

Coco Gauff vowed to use her disappointments from the past season to motivate herself in 2023. She stated:

"I think when you get so close to something, especially in that Grand Slam final, you get so close that it makes you want to do it even more and you know that you're capable of doing it. So it's all about putting in the work and just trusting in yourself. Trusting in your game, trusting your team and hope that good things can happen."

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"I would rather be known as a great person than a great athlete" - Coco Gauff on her legacy

When asked what kind of legacy she hoped to have as an athlete and as a person, Coco Gauff stated that she hopes to be both a successful player and a great person.

The American, however, stressed that she would prefer to be known as a great person rather than a great athlete — if she had to pick only one.

"I guess as an athlete, somebody who is fun to watch, somebody who can dominate the game and somebody who is successful in the game," she said.

"But as a person, I guess I would rather be known as a great person than a great athlete. If I could be known as both, that would be pretty cool. I just think for me, I hope that I made a difference in this world when I'm gone. When I'm gone, I hope people say ‘man, she [Coco Gauff] really was a great person,'" she added.