THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. First and foremost, curious how the comedown and recovery from Parma has gone for you in terms of just getting to celebrate that moment but also preparing for this event? How do you feel going into Roland Garros this year?
COCO GAUFF: I feel great going into it. After Parma, we went to Nice, went to the Mouratoglou Academy for a couple days just to train a little bit, relax, get away from the bubble life.
Yeah, I had two practices here so far since I have been here and they have both been great. I'm feeling really good going into it and feeling really confident.
Q. When you arrive in town for a tournament, whether it's a Grand Slam tournament or another, is your mindset and approach to the tournament any different week to week? Does it depend what the surface is or what the title is at stake or any of that, or do you try to keep the same mindset no matter what?
COCO GAUFF: Well, if it's working, I keep the same mindset, and if it doesn't, I change it up. After Madrid I came in there a bit nervous just because like I was focused on my ranking and focused on -- you know, we all know about the whole Olympic thing and how close everything is. I was focusing on that.
I was, like, you know, I'm just going to not stress about it. If it happens, it happens; if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.
I think I have been playing a lot freer, and I think you can see it while I'm on the court. That's how I'm going to into this tournament. I'm just going to, you know, have fun and live in the moment and in the matches.
I don't know. I just feel like even now instead of stressing and when the score is a little bit tough, instead of stressing out I think I'm really just enjoying the pressure and enjoying the moment. Because at the end of the day -- you know, I talked to a couple of players who are older who are retired, and at the end of the day they just always say the same thing, that the thing they regret the most is not enjoying it while they are doing it. That's something that I don't want to take for granted.
Q. Could you give an example of who some of those players are. Was this a face-to-face conversation or...
COCO GAUFF: I mean, I'll just say that most of the conversations weren't like face to face. Some of them were just them telling my dad that, and he transferred the information to me. Some people came up to me and said it.
I don't know. I just feel like you can, like -- a lot of people noticed I kind of, I guess, look stressed walking around the site and everything, I guess. And my dad also reached out to people just to get a different perspective on life. So, yeah.
Q. Winning a title going into a slam, it can have many different effects, but two effects that could happen is, A, obviously it helps your confidence and everything, but it can also create pressure and expectations on playing well, this is a great opportunity. So how do you manage that? How do you manage that going into Paris this year?
COCO GAUFF: To be honest, I don't think it really puts any pressure on me. It just gave me confidence. You know, I did a lot of quarterfinals and semifinals in 2020 and here, and so it gave me confidence just to finish the tournament through and lift a trophy.
I don't feel any pressure. You know, maybe because it is a 250, so it's a little bit of a smaller tournament so it's not as much pressure, I would say, as a 1000 or a Masters or something.
Yeah, either way I feel like winning a title just gives you more confidence and it gives you more experience of playing in the finals. That's the goal here is to make it to the finals and win it. Hopefully if I do make it I can think back in Parma about my experience in the finals.
Q. You mentioned you went to Nice and you sort of mentioned offhand needing to get away from the bubble life. Is it stressful? Has it been hard on you?
COCO GAUFF: It's not -- I think it's definitely better this year. I will say going into it at first from living life completely normal was a little bit hard for me just because, you know, you really go only to the hotel and then the site, and that was it.
But this year we're allowed an hour out at the hotel to walk around, and it definitely makes a difference. I know for some people an hour outside may seem like a small detail but at least for me it just means a lot to go out and get away from it. Because at the end of the day, we're in Paris, so you want to enjoy the city. We're in Rome. You know, we're in these nice cities and you don't get to enjoy it.
I think it definitely makes a big difference just being able to go out. Because I will say last year I was struggling a little bit, just finding -- not finding motivation, but I would just say enjoying it because you just go from the courts to the hotel, and it was not that fun for me personally.
Q. You have spoken in the past about role models and sports athletes who you've admired in the past. How does it feel now at such a young age to be considered a role model and an inspiration to other people?
COCO GAUFF: I mean, it means a lot. For me, I'm just glad that, you know, parents are happy that their kids look up to somebody like me. You know, I'm always, like, being myself, to be honest, all the time. I try to have fun, try to make things fun and make things interesting. It's just nice that people I guess like me for me, and it's just a satisfying feeling.
You know, some people, you know, they feel like they have to put a mask on or something to portray themselves, but I'm just happy that I'm comfortable with being myself, and people kind of like that.
Q. To follow up on something else you said earlier, you mentioned rankings in the context of the Olympics and that you were keeping an eye on that. I'm wondering in general, not in relation to the Olympics, but week to week as you have been on tour and been rising up through the rankings, how much have you paid attention to that? Is that something you'll look at regularly, weekly, every so often to see where you are, what that number is?
COCO GAUFF: Honestly, I find out my ranking through Instagram posts, that if I reach a career high I find out through maybe USTA or WTA posting about it. I don't keep track of rankings. Only because of the Olympics I was keeping track of it a little bit more than I normally would do.
To be honest, the only time I keep track of it is like if once I can get into main draw and now I'm in the ranking I can get into main draw of pretty much everything.
So, yeah, for me, like, rankings, it's cool to have a high ranking but that's not my goal. Be No. 1 would be cool, don't get me wrong, but my goal is to win Grand Slams. I'm sure with the Grand Slams a No. 1 ranking would come, but it's not something that I focus on. My goal is just to win Grand Slams, and all the numbers and all that will come with that. So, yeah.
Q. Obviously when you won the juniors in Paris you beat your friend, Caty McNally. You play doubles together. You won last week together. You make so much more progress than she does. How does it work? How is the relationship between the two of you? Can you help her?
COCO GAUFF: I feel like for me with that, Caty is honestly the nicest person that I know. I know that the position that she's in, it could be easy to get jealous, I guess, or spew hate. But she always, always is the first person to congratulate me, first person to say she's proud of me, first person to be there if something goes wrong or anything.
You know, with Caty, she's a hard worker. She always believes she's going to do well, and I believe in her too. Me and her are both big believers that everyone's path is different, everyone's time to shine I guess is going to be at different points in their life. For me, you know, right now I'm doing well, and I think she will do well later.
You know, French Open she got hurt. But she's going to be playing Wimbledon next week and I honestly think with the way she's playing she can do well and make some noise. She's been in these moments before in the spotlight. She played against Serena at US Open, and, you know, got close to, got a set off of her and could have had opportunities to maybe close the match.
I think that with her, she's just a hard worker. I know that that moment will happen with her. And I think for me when you know someone personally like I do, like I know her, I just truly, truly believe that she will be at the top one day.
Like I said, everyone's path is different. Just because I'm doing better right now doesn't mean that she'll do better than me later. The goal is play Grand Slam finals against her and Grand Slam finals with her.
Q. Before I was with Rafael Nadal and we were talking about you. He says you're great, young, with aptitude. He said she has no need for advice. How do you feel when a 13-time winner of Roland Garros is talking about you like that?
COCO GAUFF: Oh, that's pretty cool to hear, to be honest. I don't know. It feels pretty good. Obviously somebody I look up to and walking around I still get starstruck by him, like it's Rafa Nadal. So it's pretty cool that he said that about me.
I mean, I know he says I don't need advice, but, I mean, anything from Rafa would be great (smiling). Thank you, I appreciate you asking that.
Q. Has the role of an athlete changed in the past years? You're young but you have already taken position on political matters, like Black Lives Matter movement. Seen from your generation, do you think the role of an athlete has changed?
COCO GAUFF: I mean, people always put, I feel like, athletes in a box. You know, I think throughout even with like LeBron, you know, the whole thing about him, I think people forget that athletes, even though it's an important part of our life, but that's just part of our life. We're people too who care about issues and have opinions on things.
I don't know. I just feel like, yeah, I'm an athlete but I'm also, you know, a woman, also a Black woman, American citizen. I obviously care about issues outside of tennis and I like to do other things and be interested in things.
For me, I think people just forget that I'm not just a tennis player. I want to do other things in my life outside of tennis. Yeah, so I wouldn't consider it a role of an athlete. It's just a role of a person in general. Some people are going to be interested in athletic things, and some people be interested in political things and some people are interested in medicine. It's just life in general.
So I don't know if it's considered a role of an athlete. I think it's just more of a role of a person in this world.
Q. You are often compared to the Williams sisters. Maybe it's because you're Black. But I guess it's because you're talented and maybe American too. We could have a final between you and Serena. Is it something you hope for? I mean, 22 years separate you girls.
COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, playing Serena in the final would be great (smiling). That's the dream that I have always dreamed about, playing her in a final.
But, yeah, I mean, people compare me to them a lot, and I think it's a compliment, but for me I just focus on being myself because I'm never going to be Serena Williams and Serena will never be me because we are two different people. We have two different brains.
I understand why people compare us, but I think it's just important that I want to be known as Coco. I don't want to be known as Serena Williams' heir, or Serena Williams' next thing. I just want to be known as Coco Gauff.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports