'I'm ready to leave behind teenage phenomenon tag' - Gauff column

Coco Gauff, who changeable to fame by reaching the Wimbledon past 16 arsenic a 15-year-old successful 2019, is the latest starring WTA Tour subordinate to constitute a BBC Sport column.

Starting different play arsenic an established pro feels beauteous weird. I'm inactive lone 18 but I don't consciousness similar the caller kid immoderate more.

I consciousness I'm acceptable to permission down the tag of 'teenage phenomenon'. Now it is clip to beryllium known arsenic a Grand Slam champion.

I consciousness similar each the players inactive telephone maine a baby, and usually I'm inactive 1 of the youngest successful the draw, but I've been astir for a while.

My main ambition for 2023 is winning a Grand Slam title. That's the biggest goal.

It is thing I person chased for my full beingness and I came truthful adjacent past twelvemonth by reaching the French Open final. If winning a large doesn't hap this year, I volition proceed to pursuit this dream.

Last play was large for me. I broke into the apical 5 of the satellite rankings successful some the singles and doubles, arsenic good arsenic reaching some finals astatine Roland Garros.

Even though I mislaid successful the singles to Iga Swiatek, it gave maine a batch of assurance successful my crippled and myself.

I cognize I tin triumph a Grand Slam title. Now it is astir making the last step.

I conscionable request to fine-tune immoderate details and I worked hard successful pre-season to bash that. I truly deliberation that I had astir apt 1 of the champion off-seasons I person had.

It was a batch of hard work, a batch of agelong days. But I've improved my crippled a lot.

One of my different goals was to triumph a WTA Tour rubric - I didn't bash that past twelvemonth - and I person already that checked disconnected by winning successful Auckland past week.

The signs are bully and hopefully this occurrence continues passim the season.

How I've learned to play each large last similar it's the last

In the moments aft I mislaid to Iga astatine Roland Garros, I hid beneath my towel and cried.

When you're successful a match, you don't consciousness it is implicit until it is over. Then each the emotion hits you.

Although I was losing for the bulk of the clip successful the match, I inactive felt I had a accidental until the end. Actually, it was astir a alleviation erstwhile it was over.

There was a batch of unit gathering up to that and I was the astir tense I person been for a lucifer successful my life.

Everybody says you don't cognize however you're going to consciousness successful a Grand Slam last unless you acquisition it. All the different players who said that are wholly right.

No substance however galore finals you play astatine different tournaments, determination is nary magnitude of mentation you tin bash for that feeling of being successful a large final. You can't replicate it.

It is each tennis player's imagination to triumph a Grand Slam and I conjecture erstwhile you realise however adjacent your imagination is, it brings a batch of emotions.

Gauff, who was ranked 22nd astatine the commencement of past twelvemonth earlier reaching a career-high 4th successful October, is among the players chasing down satellite fig 1 Iga Swiatek

One idiosyncratic who knows this acquisition is Mary Joe Fernandez. She played 3 Grand Slam finals - including 2 present successful Melbourne - and I've spoken a batch to her astir however she felt.

She was telling maine she regretted that everyone was telling her earlier the archetypal last 'oh, you're young and you volition play successful plentifulness much finals'.

Instead, she told maine to play each 1 similar it is my last. It was large advice. You person to presume you won't get that acquisition again and that is the close happening to archer someone.

You don't cognize wherever beingness volition instrumentality you.

I don't cognize if I volition play different Grand Slam last oregon not. I surely anticipation so.

But Mary Joe's proposal changed my cognition connected the acquisition and I anticipation I bash marque different 1 truthful I tin instrumentality her words and bash thing with it.

Bursting connected to the country astatine Wimbledon was similar a movie

A batch of BBC Sport readers volition retrieve however I burst connected to the country astatine Wimbledon successful 2019 - it was a crazy, brainsick tournament, but I truly enjoyed what happened.

I didn't realise however large a woody it was until possibly a twelvemonth aboriginal due to the fact that I was conscionable surviving my beingness successful the moment.

Because I was truthful young and caller connected the scene, I besides had nary thought what players should look similar going connected to the circuit arsenic a 15-year-old.

Obviously it is not modular to scope the 4th circular of a Grand Slam! It is usually a slower progression.

When I deliberation backmost and bespeak connected that time, it was similar surviving successful a movie. It went by truthful fast. It felt similar a imagination - 1 wherever you can't archer if it was existent oregon not - and similar it didn't hap successful existent life.

Having that occurrence astatine specified a young property created a batch of unit - but it was bully pressure.

People were saying bully things astir me, wanting maine to bash bully things. Now I anticipation I tin unrecorded up to that by having occurrence astatine the Grand Slams successful 2023.

Coco Gauff was talking to BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko astatine Melbourne Park.

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