‘The goal is No 1’: Gauff at crossroads after hitting first speed bumps

Talented teenager has been a remarkable success story but needs to make adjustments on and off court to reach next level

Halfway through her third-round tussle with Paula Badosa in Madrid this month, Coco Gauff's mind was elsewhere. Errors sprayed from her racket and she could barely land a forehand inside the court. Gauff haemorrhaged game after game, sharing grim expressions with her team. She was dismantled 6-3, 6-0.

I mentally wasn't engaged in that second set. I let something happen in the first, maybe one or two bad points. I just stayed down," said Gauff this week in Rome.