Candi Gauff has publicly rallied behind her daughter, Coco Gauff, defending the tennis star against critics who underestimate the labor required to maintain a high-level performance. Emphasizing that her daughter works incredibly hard, Candi underscored the disparity between the limited snippets seen on social media and the rigorous reality of a professional athlete’s daily schedule. Gauff has emerged as one of the most impressive young stars in women’s tennis.
Addressing the common misconceptions surrounding athletic training, Coco Gauff recently explained to Show Case Tennis that social media often captures only 30 seconds of an athlete’s routine, failing to reflect the more than five hours of dedicated training she performs daily. Her mother, Candi, stood firmly by this perspective, using her own observations to highlight the massive volume of work that goes into Coco’s development. She added that fans only see a small part of the work that athletes do every day. When asked about what changes she looks forward to making in an interview with Tennis World USA, Gauff replied.
This defense comes during a standout season for the American player. Gauff’s track record includes capturing the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open titles, alongside semifinal runs at the other two Grand Slam tournaments. This year alone, she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, as well as the semifinals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. She also secured a victory at the Cincinnati Open, defeating fellow American Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4.
Looking toward the future, Gauff is preparing for the China Open, a tournament where she has found consistent success, having reached the semifinals in 2023 and 2025, and winning the title in 2024. As she eyes next season, she has identified specific areas for improvement, particularly her aggression and first-serve consistency. Current season statistics show Gauff landing 62.5% of her first serves, winning 68.4% of points behind them, and maintaining a 70.6% win rate in service games.
