“The worst I’ve ever felt on the court,“ Coco Gauff confessed to reporters in her post-match interview after advancing to the third round of the US Open. Looking at how the 21-year-old struggled to subdue Donna Vekic in the first set, hardly anyone would argue against how terrible Gauff might have felt during the match. But her compatriot firmly believes that it’s a pressure that outsiders can hardly comprehend.

In her own post-match presser, Jessica Pegula backed up the Delray Beach resident on how the pressure on the players can be palpable. Pegula breezed through Victoria Azarenka in the second round to move on to the next, but was heard sympathizing with grief using the latter’s own words. “I mean, like she said, being able to do that in front of a stadium—breaking down, going through whatever she was going through inside, and still being able to win the match and come out on the other side—that takes guts,” Pegula said.

Further noting how the Arthur Ashe Stadium is not an easy place to play at, Jessica went on, “Not only are you playing out there, but you’re trying to win, and then you feel like you’re failing, and then you’re crying, and then you still win. That’s even harder than not showing any emotion at all. I think, like she said, it showed that she was human, and sometimes fans don’t understand that.”

During her match against Vekic, Gauff was visibly struggling. When the Croatian star broke Gauff’s serve at 4-4, the 2023 US Open champ buried her face in a towel and was seen sobbing. Thankfully, an unexpected opportunity soon presented itself. During Vekic’s medical timeout, Gauff kept herself busy with practice serves and went on to bag the first set 7-6(5) when the match resumed. It looked like she had gained the momentum she needed, and Gauff pocketed the second set without breaking much of a sweat. But she couldn’t shake off the overwhelming emotions even during her post-match interview.

“It’s kind of amazing that I was able to get out of that one,” a teary-eyed Coco Gauff confessed after moving to the third round. Pegula believed, for the outsiders, such emotions can be something really difficult to resonate with. “Tennis isn’t life or death, but when you’re out there doing something you’ve worked your whole life for and you feel like something’s not working, it hits hard,” Pegula said about Gauff breaking down at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, “It’s not always healthy to keep everything in. Clearly she was struggling, and that’s what she needed to do in that moment to overcome it—and she did.”

“That’s really tough, and I don’t think outsiders really understand how complicated and difficult that is. You have to be pretty fearless to go out there and do that,” Jessica reiterated in her post-match presser. She went on to note how, in tennis, players stand alone against the world, and it takes immense self-resilience to overcome difficulties.

But, luckily, Gauff also had others to look up to find it in herself to keep pushing despite her serve issues. As the Arthur Ashe Stadium stood on its feet to laud Coco for a job well done, the WTA star acknowledged that she took a page from Simone Biles‘ book to forge ahead. The 7x Olympic gold medalist gymnast was among the many celebrities who graced the US Open Day 5, and probably was what saved Gauff from spiraling.

Referring to Biles’ public confessions on struggling with anxiety, Coco said, “If she can go on a six-inch beam and do that under all the pressure of the world, then I can hit the ball on (this court). It brought me a little bit of calm, just knowing her story with all the things she went through mentally, so she’s an inspiration for sure and her presence definitely did help me today.”

But really, while she did escape her second-round challenge with flying colors, Gauff needs to sort her house, ASAP! And she also has all the help she needs.

Coco Gauff has the right personnel to help her out of the slump

Gauff currently leads the WTA Tour with 320 double faults, with eight of them coming during Thursday’s match against Vekic. But it’s not like she didn’t know about the biggest issue with her playing. And she’s been toiling hard, along with collaborating with the right people, to overcome her issues. Just days before the US Open, Gauff added Gavin MacMillan, the celebrity biomechanics specialist, to her team. MacMillan had previously helped Aryna Sabalenka to resolve her own serve issues, and Gauff hoped he’d do the same for her as well.

“I just felt this was the best decision for my game, and I had to go with what I was feeling. I know Gavin has had experience with this before, so [I’m] hoping I can just take on his knowledge and see what can happen,” Gauff said about the sudden decision. But it wasn’t an easy task to adapt to MacMillan’s process all of a sudden. “I’m so used to these long battles. But yeah, the practice week, it was tough, because I was spending a lot of time on court, literally serving until like, my shoulder was hurting. Yeah, it’s just tough,” Gauff said on the high standards her newest training staff sets.

Gauff will now face Poland’s Magdalena Frech in her next match at the US Open. With MacMillan to show the way, do you think the American will be able to navigate her way through all the troubles and bag her second singles title at the year’s last Grand Slam? Share your thoughts with us! Also, follow EssentiallySports‘ US Open live blog to make sure you don’t miss any updates from New York!