Sawt Falasteen - Amid slump, Gauff relishes US Open title defense

"Obviously coming in as defending champion is a little bit of pressure, but also more of a privilege, because as my new motto is: If you defend, that means you won something before," Gauff said Friday at Flushing Meadows, where the final Grand Slam of the season starts on Monday.

Gauff, ranked third in world, has endured a difficult follow-up season after bagging her first major title here last year.

A semi-finalist at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, she was bounced in the fourth round at Wimbledon and endured Olympic disappointment in Paris.

She fell in the third round at Toronto, and crashed out of the first match of her Cincinnati title defense.

But Gauff, with just one title in 2024, said she'd been inspired by athletes she met at the Olympics, including America's 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas.

She said meeting elite athletes from other sports made her realize that "what you're feeling isn't so isolated".

"The nerves, you realize nerves are normal, the pressures are all normal. It doesn't make them easier but I think it helps you know you're not carrying the weight alone.

"I think I just learned that everything I feel, other athletes are feeling it in their sports, and they're obviously undisputed best at what they've done, especially this past Olympics."

It's a buoying message in a frustrating season, as was a comment on her TikTok.

"It said, 'you've won literally and figuratively. Why stress yourself out over a victory lap?' I was, like, that's actually a good perspective. No one can take that from me so why stress myself over something that I already have.

"I'm just wanting to add to that, whether it happens here in two weeks or next year here or at Australia or whatever, there's no point.

"So I think I saw that comment, like, three days ago, and I was, like, 'OK, I'm going to stick by that and use that', because it really changed my perspective coming into this."

It's a nice change from the social media "doubters," who Gauff says she still uses as motivation.

Despite her higher profile, the 20-year-old said her life hadn't changed that much since her maiden Grand Slam title last year.

It was a moment she'd been preparing for since she broke through for her first WTA title at the age of 15.

"I think all that time prepped me to better prepare for this moment so I wasn't such a deer in headlights and everything wasn't so crazy," she said.

"So I think now, coming in, I'm going to enjoy it."

Gauff will start her title defence against France's Varvara Gracheva in the first round.

E.Aziz--SF-PST