The Tennis player who won the 2023 US Open shared what she does on her downtime and how it helps her focused when its gametime
In a recent candid video, tennis champion Coco Gauff gave the world a glimpse into her multifaceted life beyond the tennis court. The US Open champion opened up about her personal time and the many activities she loves outside of tennis- activities she doesn’t always share with the public.
Gauff’s heartfelt monologue emphasized the importance of prioritizing her mental health and staying present in the moment despite having a hectic schedule. The 19-year old underscored her vulnerability and commitment to mental well-being while coming across as an inspiration, reminding her fans and fellow athletes of the significance of taking time for oneself.
“Nothing is better for my game, then taking my mind off the game” – Coco Gauff
The video is part of campaign collab between Ray Ban and meta for its new smart sunglasses. Gauff shared it in both Instagram and TikTok with the caption: “Being fully present in my downtime lets me stay focused when its gametime. Thanks for helping me stay in the moment 💜🖤🙌🏾”
Some of the higlights included her revealing how she believes people saw her. “When I was young people used to think I lived and breathed tennis,” she says in a voice over. “I just feel like people see the work on court but don’t realize how many things I like to do off the court,” she said.
“I just don’t necessarily always share that stuff about myself. Some days I just like to sit in my hotel room and just do nothing.” – Coco Gauff –
She also talked about athletes in general and the relatability to the rest of us. “We’re people too,” she says. “I have two younger brothers, it feels like home when I’m with them.”
Coco Gauff’s family
Coco Gauff often speaks about the importance of her family, which has proved to be pivotal for her development as a person and a player. “I’m the oldest of three siblings. Maybe that has something to play with it. I don’t know. I feel like I have learned a lot quickly,” she said in a press conference at the Qatar Open.
Her parents are Corey and Candi and her brothers are Codey and Cameron. Codey is 14 years old and has an interest on many things, including baseball. Cameron is 9 years old and has a strong bond with his sister, helping her come up with some designs for her shoe line.
After months of thinking about “will he or won’t he?” return, the tennis world got some very positive news this week about Rafael Nadal. The all-time great hasn’t played since January 2023 due to a hip flexor injury. Nadal then decided to have surgery on his hip over the summer and any idea of if or when he would return to playing professional tennis was anyone’s guess, including Nadal himself.
This week, though, Rafael Nadal said something fantastic. Nadal said, “…the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months.” Big and positive. Those are excellent words, right?
Nadal did not, however, say exactly when he would be back. He said he would hope to have more information on that in the coming weeks. He has recently got back to training, though. The tennis season begins in early January and the first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, begins on January 15.
Rafael Nadal inching closer to returning to tennis
That is an earlier start to the first major than normal. As every week seems important in getting Rafael Nadal back in the right condition to play high-level tennis, the early start to the Aussie Open might mean Nadal is not going to be ready for that.
Nadal might also wait to come back until the clay court season which begins in full in April. Most likely, many tennis fans do not want to read that Nadal will not return for several more months, and he could return well before then, but clay is an easier surface on the body than the hard courts of the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal did make a fairly big admission, too. He is not sure if he will ever play at the level we became accustomed to on his way to winning 22 Grand Slams. Said Nadal, “My gut says it will be very difficult to get back to a good level of tennis. If I wasn’t hopeful of trying to be competitive, I wouldn’t be doing everything I’ve done over the past months at my age and after a long career.”
He added, “I won’t win more Grand Slams than (Novak) Djokovic, but I will have the chance to enjoy myself again.” We should all have that same hope, right? Just to be able to enjoy ourselves.
Rafael Nadal recently conceded in an interview with the ATP Tour that he would not be able to match Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slam race. Djokovic is 2 ahead of Nadal, with 24 to his name and is likely to make it No.25 at least at the Australian Open 2024. But many of the Spaniard’s enthusiastic supporters believe that Nadal still has one Grand Slam win at least left in him before he quits the game probably by the end of next year or 2025 assuming that his body holds up by then.
Recently on X, there was a tweet put out presumably by a Rafael Nadal enthusiast which revealed an unheard-of anecdote about the Spanish legend. This wasn’t even mentioned by Nadal in his autobiography which he released nearly a decade ago. And it was about his experience watching the French Open for the first time back in 2004.
Apparently, Nadal did not even see the face of the center court at Roland Garros in Paris, named Phillippe-Chatrier before the 2004 edition of the competition. But he chose to watch some of the matches from the stands with his then manager, Tuts who was a Nike representative. As a player who was to turn 18 in June that year, it only took him one look at the court to correctly declare in private to Tuts that ‘I’m going to cause some trouble here!’ in the future.
In a classic case of self-prophecy coming true, the clay court specialist Rafael Nadal made the most of playing for the first time at the French Open in 2005 and won the tournament, coming into it as the 4th seed. Nadal had a tricky draw from the 3rd round onwards, having to beat two experienced Frenchmen back-to-back, i.e. Richard Gasquet and Sebastian Grosjean.
He backed up those victories by easing past fellow Spaniard and good friend, David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. The biggest win for Rafael Nadal was when he beat the World No.1, Roger Federer in 4 sets in the semifinals. But Rafa didn’t have it easy in the final either, having to bounce back after losing the first set to win against Mariano Puerta for his first-ever Grand Slam title.
Rafael Nadal having that level of self-awareness and belief in his abilities at that age, is quite a story. As a result, the unfortunate part was that in 2003 and 2004, the Spaniard could not participate in the French Open due to sustaining injuries at the 11th hour virtually. In 2003, Nadal fell while perhaps needlessly loitering around the net during training, which damaged his elbow severely. While in 2004, he was aiming to recover from the same foot injury that has caused him trouble many times over the years.
In both those years, the draw was so wide open that even Grand Slam champions such as Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick could not go the distance. As a result, Carlos Alcaraz’s current coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero won in 2003 while the now nearly-forgotten name from Argentina, Gaston Gaudio took home the title in 2004.
Now, it is well known too that Rafael Nadal made a name for himself first in the tennis world at the age of 16 in 2003, defeating his now coach, Carlos Moya in Hamburg back in 2003 on a clay court. So it is extremely likely that had Nadal played at Roland Garros in 2003 and 2004, he would have virtually had no challenger for 2 Grand Slam titles. Roger Federer was more of a grass court specialist who only won his first hard court Grand Slam in January 2004 and had no credentials as such to challenge for a clay championship.
Rafael Nadal 2024 tennis comeback update
It is no secret that Rafael Nadal has had to battle multiple injuries throughout his career. The fact that Nadal has played professional tennis for so many years and was at the top of his game despite all his challenges is a feat in itself which perhaps no player before him had done so or after him would do so.
With the Rafael Nadal 2024 tennis comeback news confirmed by the player himself recently, it has drawn many positive reactions from the tennis world, including Novak Djokovic. Despite not being ‘friends’ with each other and often trading barbs due to their difference of opinions, Novak Djokovic graciously said that it is great for the sport that Rafael Nadal would be making a comeback.
Djokovic expressed his desire to play Nadal in a men’s singles match at least one more time as the Spaniard could call it a day depending on how he can manage his injuries. The Serb also lauded the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s spirit and passion for the sport, claiming that it is admirable that the 14-time French Open champion manages to bounce back every time from injuries successfully.
Earlier, Australian Open director Craig Tiley announced that Nadal is set to feature in the season-opening Grand Slam, Down Under. But Nadal had been non-committal in the public.
After an injury-marred year, there were concerns around Rafael Nadal’s return to the game. On Thursday, however, the Spaniard gave the strongest hint yet that there is still tennis left in him and a comeback is definitely on the cards.
Nadal, who has played just four matches on the tour all year, underwent surgery on a hip muscle in June after withdrawing from a spate of events during his favourite clay court season.
“I confirmed yesterday I’ll be back, Stay tuned these days when I decide and announce with my team when and where,” Nadal posted a message on his social media channels.
Elaborating his plans for a comeback, Nadal told ATP Tour that the hope was always there that he would play at some level once again but only can he confirm that he is ready to step back onto the courts once again.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good,” he was quoted as saying.
“We know that the pain will never disappear, but I’ve taken a step forward,” added the Spaniard. “That’s a lot for me. Talking about tennis is another matter altogether, as is the level I’ll be able to play at. But the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months. I’m confident I’ll be able to say something more specific in the coming weeks.”
In May this year, Nadal had announced his withdrawal from Roland Garros, missing out altogether at his favourite tournament for the first time in his career. Back then, he had hinted that – if he is able to make a comeback after all – that 2024 could well be his last season as a professional. “I try to enjoy and try to say goodbye [to] all the tournaments that have been important for me in my tennis career during [next] year and just try to enjoy that that, being competitive and enjoying being on court,” he had said then.
“It would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between Nadal and me,” Djokovic told reporters at the sidelines of the ATP Finals when asked about Nadal’s comeback. “That’s the biggest rivalry, in terms of the amount of matches played, that this sport has ever had. So hopefully that can happen. He’s a big warrior, he’s somebody who never gives up and with all the injuries that he had, keeps going. “That’s definitely something that you have to respect and admire about him and his spirit. For the world of tennis, no doubt that it’s amazing news that he will be back.”
Earlier, Australian Open director Craig Tiley announced that Nadal is set to feature in the season-opening Grand Slam, Down Under. But Nadal had been non-committal in the public, instead thanking the tournament for the vote of confidence and that he would continue to train hard to make it.
Rafael Nadal’s Return Date Revealed? Here’s The Latest Update On Tennis Superstar’s Comeback From Hip Injury
Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal has been away from action for nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that needed surgery. He last played in the Australian Open in January, which is where Nadal picked up the injury
Rafael Nadal is sure he’ll be returning to competition after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery. And now he says he’ll be revealing his comeback plans soon. (Tennis News)
Nadal wrote Thursday on social media: “I confirmed yesterday I’ll be back” and punctuated that message with a smiling emoji.
“Stay tuned,” he continued in the Instagram post, which included a photograph of him about to hit a backhand. He said that in the coming days he will “decide and announce with my team when and where” everyone can expect to see him in action.
Next season begins in late December, with the year’s first major tournament, the Australian Open, scheduled to begin main-draw matches on January 14.
“For the world of tennis, no doubt that it’s amazing news that he’ll be back,” Novak Djokovic said at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Nadal, whose 22 Grand Slam singles titles rank second to Djokovic’s 24 for the most among men, has not played on tour since last January, when he hurt his hip flexor during a loss to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open.
In May, a little more than a week before the start of his beloved French Open, Nadal announced that he would miss the tournament he’s won a record 14 times and wasn’t exactly sure when he might return to play.
He said then he hoped to compete in 2024, which he expected to be his final season.
You never know how things will turn out,” Nadal said at a news conference at the time, “but my intention is that next year will be my last year.”
He wound up having arthroscopic surgery in June in Barcelona.
Dating to the end of 2022, the 37-year-old Spanish left-hander has lost seven of his past nine matches, including going 1-3 this season.
With Roger Federer, who won 20 majors, having announced his retirement in 2022, and Nadal missing much of this year, Djokovic was the only member of the so-called Big Three of men’s tennis who was active throughout 2023 — and the 36-year-old from Serbia was dominant, particularly at the Grand Slam tournaments. He won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open and reached the final at Wimbledon.
“I think it would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between Nadal and me. That’s the biggest rivalry in terms of the amount of matches played that this sport ever had. Hopefully that can happen,” Djokovic said.
“He’s a big warrior. He’s somebody that really never gives up. With all the injuries that he had, keeps going. That’s definitely something that you have to respect and admire about him and his spirit.”
Tiger Woods is putting one foot in front of the other — and looking good while doing so!
The 47-year-old golf legend was seen over the weekend caddying for his son Charlie at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Championship in Louisiana, walking with Charlie’s bag and without a noticeable limp.
In a video shared on SB Nation’s Playing Through on X, Woods walked quickly alongside his 14-year-old as he played in the tournament.
Charlie was at 5-over and tied for 23rd going into the final round on Monday, but the father-son seemingly looked to be savoring their special bond. It was the second time Tiger was seen caddying for Charlie in recent months — the pro also carried his son’s clubs in September as Charlie clinched his berth in the November tournament.
News of Tiger’s speedy gait comes more than six months after he withdrew from the Masters before the fourth round, having re-aggravated his plantar fasciitis.
Tiger underwent “successful” fusion surgery on his ankle later that month to address arthritis issues in his leg.
In April, he told reporters that he is struggling with “constant” leg pain, an ongoing issue after suffering serious injuries in his California single-car accident in February 2021.
Explaining that he deals with “constant” right leg pain, Tiger also told reporters that his leg remained “sore” after the Masters’ first round. “Hopping on the left leg is fine,” he added. “If I did it on the other one, not so fine,” per ESPN.
Yet through it all, the icon is seemingly on the cusp of returning, fellow golfer Stewart Cink shared last week.
Speaking to the Golf Channel, Cink, 50, speculated that the 15-time major champion looked to be preparing for another comeback.
“He said that he started practicing, which I think is a great sign,” Cink said. “I don’t know what he’s practicing for, but he said he started practicing. So that means he’s in go-mode for something, and I think we’re all pulling for him to feel as good as he can feel, and if he’s hitting golf balls, I think he’s going in the right direction.”
The golf world has seen a lot of prodigies prove their mettle on the greens in spectacular fashion. The same has been the case with the son of Tiger Woods, as he strived to carry out his father’s legacy by proving his skills on the course each time he stepped foot on it. However, this time around, Charlie Woods was beaten by another golfer, Lucky Cruz.
Cruz managed to emerge victorious at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Championship that took place not too long ago. However, one becomes naturally curious about the athlete who dealt a severe blow to the legend’s son, who has now become nothing short of a genius!
Cruz was able to propel himself to the leaderboard in the 14-15 division of the NB3 National Championship by registering 11-under 202 over the three rounds, three strokes ahead of the runner-up. The Texas native was able to overshadow Woods’ 14-year-old son, who finished at T17 with a score of 215 (+2).
Currently studying in the 10th grade in school, the aspiring athlete started playing the game at the age of 5 after his father introduced him to the sport. He became interested in the same after playing a ton of Tiger Woods video games, leading him to become the only player ever to make it to Coushatta in all four editions of the National Championship.
In an interview after the tournament, when asked about the win, the 14-year-old golfer expressed his excitement as he mentioned how “amazing” it feels, all the while pointing out how “hard it is” to get into the event in the first place. Continuing on his response, Cruz divulged the reason behind his coming back all these years to the championship as he said, “Competing against some of the best golfers in the U.S. and worldwide… you’re never gonna get any better than this,” all the while showcasing his competitive spirit.
Well, it does take a talented athlete to top the field of players, including golfers such as the 82X PGA Tour winner’s son. Moreover, it does pique the interest of the golf community in the other accolades that the young champ was able to pull off.
Cruz and his achievements
Cruz was able to qualify for all the televised golf events he played, including the Notah Begay III, the Faldo Series, and the Drive Chip & Putt Championship. In addition, he was able to participate in the Houston Open Qualifier and the PGA Pro & Jr. Am. Moreover, he was able to play with the likes of Clyde Drexler, Reggie Barclay, and Gary Carter, among others, in a bid to raise money for the teenager’s nonprofits, including LuckySwing.org and HeartSupport.
While the young genius was able to emerge triumphant in his age group, a lot of other golfers were able to claim victory in theirs. Under the 12-13 age division, Maverick Midthun was able to come out on top with 200 (-13), while Mykhailo Golod won in the 16-18 group, scoring 6 under 202. Kai Molina was able to top the leaderboard in the 10-11 range. Well, one thing is for sure: the future of golf is in good hands.
Rafael Nadal, who has only played four matches this season, the last of them on January 18 in the second round of the Australian Open, is paying the consequences of his long inactivity as a result of the hip injury that forced him to undergo surgery.
This week he drops to 662nd in the ATP rankings after losing 210 points out of 255. That means Nadal drops to No. 662 and is left with 45 second-round spots in the first major of 2023.
To find the last time Nadal appeared so far down the rankings, you have to go back to April 29 2002 when he was ranked 762nd.
The Spaniard, who is still training with a view to making a comeback on the upcoming tour of the Antipodes, is guaranteed invitations to tournaments, and can also use his protected ranking.
However, at the time of his return, he is exposed to have very complicated first rounds in which he could face the players who currently make up the world’s top 10.
Pablo Carreno, who last Friday underwent surgery to solve his right elbow discomfort, will close the year also out of the top 600 positions.
A Novak Djokovic superfan has done a numerical comparison between the Big Three of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and there is a clear winner in terms of the greatest player of all time when it comes to the overall statistics.
@Yolitatennis has been keeping a spreadsheet for a couple of years now and the latest figures once again make for pretty reading if you are a Djokovic fan.
The Serbian won his 40th ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday when he defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the final of the Paris Masters with the trophy also taking him to 97 career titles – just six behind Federer and 12 adrift of Jimmy Connors’ overall Open Era record of 109.
But Djokovic’s latest singles title moved him to 70 “Big Titles” (Grand Slams, ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000), well clear of his two rivals as Nadal is on 58 titles and Federer on 54.
Their tallies are broken down as follows:
Novak Djokovic Big Titles
24 – Grand Slams
6 – ATP Finals
40 – ATP Masters 1000
Rafael Nadal Big Titles
22 – Grand Slams
0 – ATP Finals
36 – ATP Masters 1000
Roger Federer Big Titles
20 – Grand Slams
6 – ATP Finals
28 – ATP Masters 1000
With his win today, Novak only needs to win one RR match in Turin to guarantee the YE#1 ranking for a record 8th time and 406 weeks as #1.
It is *almost* guaranteed, but not quite.
Here is my table updated: 40 masters, 70 big titles.
Total ranking points earned are also taken into consideration and it is adjusted to the current format as before 2009 a different system was used. Djokovic started his 398th week at No 1 on Monday and his total ranking points are 166,864 with Federer second in this particular category with 164,384 and Nadal with 148,997.
Other categories include Win-Loss Percentage with Djokovic on 83.68%, Nadal on 82.92% and Federer on 81.98% for “general wins” and Big Five Wins (Djokovic on 57 against Big Three, Nadal on 53 and Federer on 39).
Djokovic also leads the Streaks classification for Big Titles (Grand Slams, ATP Finals, ATP Masters, Big Titles, Weeks at No 1) and Other Achievements.
The Other Achievement list includes the Career Grand Slam with Djokovic achieving the feat three times, Nadal twice and Federer once. Djokovic is the only player with a Career Masters as he has won all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles twice over the course of his career with his two rivals on zero. Djokovic has also twice done the “Big Titles Sweep”.
However, Nadal leads the way with the most Olympic medals as he has two gold medals to his name (one in singles and one in doubles) while Federer has one gold medal in doubles and Djokovic has one bronze medal in singles.
There is one clear winner for numerical comparisons and it is Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic was in a chirpy mood on Sunday after his seventh Paris-Bercy title and 40th Masters 1000 title.
The Serbian did not hold his tongue when it came to analysing his greatness and ambition.
A few weeks ago, Rafael Nadal reflected in this way on Novak‘s record of 24 Grand Slam titles: “For him it would have been a bigger frustration not to get it. And maybe that’s why he has achieved it, he has taken the ambition to the maximum (he has 24). I’ve been ambitious, but with a healthy ambition that has allowed me to see things with perspective, not to be frustrated, not to get more angry than necessary on the court when things weren’t going well.”
Djokovic responds to Nadal’s comments
Djokovic seemed the be referencing Nadal‘s comments after he won in France.
“I’m going for every possible record, as many as I can break. I’ve never had a problem saying that. And that’s why people don’t like me. I didn’t pretend like some people… to say that it’s not my goal, and then behave differently….I always tried to be consistent with what I believe in”.
He also said of the final against Grigor Dimitrov: “Today, I think we both were quite tight at the beginning, and I could see that he was running out of gas a little bit.
“Myself as well, but I somehow managed to find an extra shot over the net. I think the match was closer than the scoreline indicates, but another amazing win for me. I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week.”
