Coco Gauff reveals battle with depression

Teenage sensation Coco Gauff said the early hype surrounding her burgeoning career brought about a fight with depression that nearly robbed her of her passion for tennis.

"Right before Wimbledon, going back to around 2017/18, I was struggling to figure out if this was really what I wanted. I always had the results so that wasn't the issue, I just found myself not enjoying what I loved," Gauff, 16, wrote in a post for Behind the Racquet. "I realized I needed to start playing for myself and not other people. For about a year I was really depressed.

"That was the toughest year for me so far. Even though I had, it felt like there weren't many friends there for me.

"When you are in that dark mindset you don't look on the bright side of things too often, which is the hardest part. I don't think it had much to do with tennis, maybe just about juggling it all."

Gauff made her breakthrough at Wimbledon last year, upsetting Venus Williams in straight sets before falling to eventual champion Simona Halep in the fourth round. Gauff also made it to the third round of the 2019 US Open and the fourth round of the 2020 Australian Open.

While dealing with the early wave of pressure, Gauff said she considered taking a year off.

"Choosing not to obviously was the right choice but I was close to not going in that direction," she wrote. "I was just lost. I was confused and overthinking if this was what I wanted or what others did. It took many moments sitting, thinking and crying. I came out of it stronger and knowing myself better than ever."

Gauff eventually broke into the top 50, becoming the youngest women to do so in the last 15 years. She's now ranked No. 52 in the world.