Coco Gauff gets personal in new Ray Ban video: "People only see the work on the court"

US Open champion Coco Gauff would like the world to know that she is more than just a tennis player. The world No. 3 opened up about how she is finding her identity off the court, staying present in the moment and doing “things that normal teenagers do” in her downtime.

“Nothing’s better for my game than taking my mind off my game,” Gauff says in a new video on Instagram and TikTok. “When I was younger, people used to think I lived and breathed and ate tennis… I just feel like people only see the work on the court but don’t realize how [many] things I like to do off the court. I like to do a lot of things, I just don’t necessarily share that stuff about myself…

“People think athletes in general, we only do our sport and that’s it. But it’s definitely not, we’re people too… I do things that normal teenagers do.”

Gauff starred in a new ad for Ray Ban x Meta smart glasses, which lets users live stream directly to Instagram and Facebook, capture video, listen to music, take phone calls, and more. Throughout the video, Gauff shows off the glasses’ capabilities as she reflects on her inner journey.

“Sometimes I would wrap myself into tennis and kind of lose my identity off the court,” Gauff continued. “I think if you have confidence off the court, it allows you to do better in those pressure situations.

“Finding who I am off court made me value myself as a person more than an athlete.”

The 19-year-old has added a Ray Ban endorsement to her growing list of sponsors and partnerships, which last year landed her at No. 7 on Forbes’ list of the world’s highest paid female athletes. She signed with New Balance at 14 and plays with a Head racquet, while other sponsors include Bose, UPS, Barilla and Baker Tilly.

Gauff has made sure to do “things that normal teenagers do” in her off-season downtime too, as she’s been posting up a storm from various concerts and music festivals. She recently attended Camp Flog Gnaw in Los Angeles, which featured a lineup of rap, hip hop and R&B’s biggest names including Tyler, The Creator; Kendrick Lamar; Ice Spice; Jaden and Willow Smith; SZA and more. The 19-year-old saw Ice Spice again a week later in Miami, when she opened for Doja Cat’s The Scarlet Tour.

It’s a well-earned break for Gauff after wrapping up the best season of her career, which saw her win four titles—including her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open—and qualify for WTA Finals in Cancun, where she reached the semifinals for the first time.

She’s set to start the 2024 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she’s the defending champion.