Coco Gauff learns to lose and not to hurt herself: she looks to another athlete for inspiration

Is Coco Gauff pleased with her loss at the Miami Open? After falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the final, the American tennis star admitted she faced a tough few weeks before the tournament, but in the end, she managed to get through it thanks to an unexpected source of inspiration.

Gauff’s path to the Miami Open was fraught with difficulties. The biggest was a nerve injury in her right shoulder, which forced her to retire mid-match at Indian Wells.

With just a week to go before the Miami tournament, Gauff’s team wanted her to withdraw and take a break. However, the world No. 4 decided to continue.

In the end, the gamble paid off. This was her first time advancing to the final in Miami, and although she lost the final, Coco said she’s taking away the positives from her time at Hard Rock Stadium.

Gauff was inspired by Alyssa Liu

During the Miami Open awards ceremony, Gauff admitted to crying tears of joy at reaching the final, and emphasized the positives despite losing to Sabalenka.

Furthermore, the world No. 4 admitted that she can be very hard on herself. However, on this occasion, she drew inspiration from the hero of the last Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu.

I think I can talk down to myself and things like that, but in that moment… An athlete that I was inspired by at the Winter Olympics was Alyssa Liu.

Coco Gauff

The 2025 French Open champion said that was her mindset in the match against Sabalenka. “Regardless of what happens, you lose, but there’s no real loss in the situation,” she asserted.

Coco tries to see the glass half full

Gauff admitted she regretted the loss, but preferred to focus on the positives of reaching the final, having never advanced beyond the fourth round in this tournament before.

However, she explained that after the defeat, “You just learn from it.”

It is a mindset shift, because obviously losing a final is tough.

Coco Gauff

Finally, she said she felt grateful because she didn’t think she would get this far, “And I know I can repeat this and come home with a bigger trophy, and I feel confident in that.”