NEW YORK — On a night when Coco Gauff
shed plenty of tears and had her mental fortitude tested, she looked up to the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium and found some much-needed inspiration in the seats.
Simone Biles, with her 11 Olympic medals and indomitable spirit, indirectly helped the American World No. 3 power through on a night when her serve was undependable yet again.
“I saw her and, honestly, I don’t know if she’s still up there, but she helped me pull it out,” Gauff said during her on-court interview after defeating unseeded Donna Vekic
7-6 (5), 6-2 in the second round of the US Open. “I was just thinking, if she can go on a six-inch beam and do that with all the pressures of the world, then I can hit the ball in this 75 … I don’t know how big this court is.
“But I saw her late in the second getting interviewed by ESPN, and it brought me a little bit of calm just knowing her story, with all the things she went through mentally. She’s an inspiration, surely, and her presence definitely did help me today.”
Biles did, indeed, stay until the match ended — we wouldn’t expect anything less from the legendary gymnast — and blew kisses to to the French Open champion after the callout. She also shouted “I love you!” The moment predictably prompted a rousing applause in Ashe.
It was a tale of two sets for Gauff, who committed seven double faults and was broken four times in the first set. She appeared emotionally drained, but hung tough to force a deciding tiebreak, which she narrowly won.
She served more solidly and consistently in the second set, and wasn’t broken once, to secure the straight sets win and advance to the third round.
After the match, the 21-year-old American reflected on why Biles means so much to her. More than just her otherworldly athletic ability, it’s the seven-time gold medalist’s mental toughness and resilience that Gauff finds so admirable.
“She’s the greatest, one of the greatest athletes,” the third seed told reporters. “It’s her and Serena for me on my Mount Rushmore of athletes. I think everything that she went through on the mental side of things in the sport, it’s something I follow closely and try to learn from.
“To see her there tonight kind of gave me a reminder that I needed. I was lucky to — actually [I] just came from talking to her, so I was able to tell her that in person.”
Gauff will play 29th-seeded Magdalena Frech
on Saturday for a spot in the fourth round. The American has won both of their matches, though they haven’t played since May of 2024.
