{"id":19587,"date":"2023-09-08T19:16:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T19:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/?p=113725"},"modified":"2023-09-08T19:16:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T19:16:24","slug":"why-u-s-open-finalist-coco-gauff-practices-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/08\/why-u-s-open-finalist-coco-gauff-practices-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Why U.S. Open Finalist Coco Gauff Practices Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/why-u-s-open-finalist-coco-gauff-practices-yoga.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-content-cta\">\n<p class=\"o-content-cta-text\"> Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/outsideapp.onelink.me\/wOhi\/6wh1kbvw&quot; class=&quot;o-content-cta-link&quot; data-analytics-event=&quot;click&quot; data-analytics-data=&quot;{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Element Clicked&quot;,&quot;props&quot;:{&quot;destination_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/outsideapp.onelink.me\/wOhi\/6wh1kbvw&quot;,&quot;domain&quot;:&quot;&lt;&gt;&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;in-content-cta&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;link&quot;}}&#8221;&gt;Download the app<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It seems fitting that tennis phenom Cori \u201cCoco\u201d Gauff just became the youngest American to advance to the U.S. Open singles final since Serena Williams in 1999. Gauff, 19, has long been vocal about her admiration of Williams, asserting the 23-time Grand Slam winner is the greatest tennis player of all time and citing Williams\u2019 career as an inspiration for her own.<\/p>\n<p>Off the court, the two athletes have another practice in common: yoga. Although the two players both include the practice in their workout regimens, they vary rather dramatically in their approaches.<\/p>\n<p>Williams, who retired from the sport in 2022, has made no secret about how much she enjoys&nbsp; doing yoga. Back in 2010, Williams shared with Vogue, \u201cWhen I\u2019m not playing tennis, I like to do yoga and Pilates.\u201d Ten years later, Williams gave the world a glimpse of her morning yoga routine in a time-lapse Instagram post in which she ran through a sequence that included Downward Dog, High Lunge, and Lizard as she worked her way up to practicing Side Splits.<\/p>\n<p>Gauff isn\u2019t quite so enthusiastic. The young star, who is poised to compete in the second Grand Slam final of her career, hasn\u2019t been shy in expressing her feelings about flowing on the mat. In a video interview with Vogue, Gauff shared some of the behind-the-scenes details of her pre-tournament routine, which includes taking time off from training. \u201cBecause I work out so much, when I do have a day off, I don\u2019t want to do anything,\u201d Gauff said. \u201cMaybe like yoga or something. I don\u2019t like yoga. But I just do it because I know it\u2019s good for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JP56NNZ9K0k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In a 2021 interview with POPSUGAR, Gauff explained that she practices Plank because she knows the benefits outweigh the pain. That disciplined mindset isn\u2019t surprising for Gauff. Nor is it unusual for her to incorporate it into her training when Williams and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uluyoga.com\/the-benefits-of-yoga-for-tennis-players\/#:~:text=A%20lot%20of%20professional%20tennis,face%20of%20adversity%20and%20struggle.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">numerous other professional tennis players<\/a> have turned to yoga for enhanced flexibility, balance, focus, and coordination\u2014all necessary for success and safety on the court.<\/p>\n<p>There might also be less obvious benefits to her yoga practice. Gauff has been lauded for her composure, especially compared to other professional players her age, yet she\u2019s also opened up about her struggles with the mental pressures of being on the pro circuit at such a young age, reported<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/tennis\/story\/_\/id\/29042267\/coco-gauff-reveals-depression-prior-debut-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to having a therapist, Gauff prioritizes wellness and balance to help her cope, she revealed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vogue.com\/article\/chris-evert-and-coco-gauff-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a recent interview with Vogue<\/a>. That includes forcing herself to step back from tennis and take time to do things for herself, whether that\u2019s a mani-pedi or heading to the beach. \u201cWhen my mind is clear,\u201d she said, \u201cI\u2019m able to play a lot clearer as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The emphasis that yoga places on focus, breathwork, and a greater awareness of self may also play a small role in her ability to clear her mind. Whatever the benefit, measurable or otherwise, Gauff gets that yoga can improve her game. And maybe, with time, she\u2019ll even come to like it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/why-u-s-open-finalist-coco-gauff-practices-yoga-1.png\" alt=\"Why U.S. Open Finalist Coco Gauff Practices Yoga\"><\/figure>\n<p>The 19-year-old tennis phenom understands its benefits, on and off the court.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/lifestyle\/coco-gauff-yoga\/\">Why U.S. Open Finalist Coco Gauff Practices Yoga<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\">Yoga Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37,35,36],"class_list":["post-19587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ayurveda","tag-blogs","tag-yoga","tag-yogacourseware"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}