Coco Gauff has admitted that she has felt like quitting on every day of her pre-season training programme, but refuses to give in because ‘quitting ain’t cute’.
The 20-year-old enjoyed a strong second half of the year, becoming the youngest China Open winner in 14 years two months ago. She went on to secure further glory at the WTA Finals, beating Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng along the way.
It came after Gauff appointed a new coach following her disappointing US Open exit, with Matt Daly coming in to replace Brad Gilbert.
The young American will be hoping to maintain her strong form into the new year with the Australian Open looming large. To do that, she will need to ensure that her pre-season preparations go as smoothly as possible.
Gauff shared a light-hearted insight into her workout struggles on X (formerly Twitter), posting a picture of a car parked extremely close to a wall.
She captioned the post: “How close I am to quitting in the middle of every workout so far this pre-season, but quitting ain’t cute so we finish.”
Staying as fit as possible is always crucial for players but it will be even more important next year. Players will be required to take part in at least 20 key events, including four Grand Slams and 16 other tournaments, under new WTA guidelines.
Gauff will be determined to prepare well as she looks to add even more money to her growing personal fortune. Earlier this week, it was reported by Sportico that she was the highest-paid female athlete of 2024.
She is thought to have pocketed £23million ($30.4m) for the year, with the vast majority of that figure coming from her various brand endorsements.
Gauff boasts lucrative deals with the likes of Head, Barilla Foods, UPS and Baker Tilly. She also has a big-money partnership with New Balance, who produce her own signature tennis shoe.
Her impressive earnings put her above the likes of Emma Raducanu, Caitlin Clark and Naomi Osaka when it comes to raking in the most money. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is also on the list but is said to have earned just over half of Gauff’s annual income.
It remains to be seen if Gauff will be able to win even more money at the Australian Open, with a prize of £1,580,143 being awarded to last year’s singles champion.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk