Coco Gauff spoke to Billboard ahead of her US Open title defence in New York, reflecting on how much she has changed since first winning the tournament in 2023. The 22-year-old, who this year again won the Cincinnati title before returning to New York, said she now feels like "a new person" compared to her breakthrough Grand Slam run, crediting the crowd's energy for bringing out a different version of herself on court.

Gauff opened her 2026 US Open campaign with a straight-sets 6-3, 6-4 win over Zeynep Sonmez at Arthur Ashe Stadium, serving strongly from the start. She has spent the past year reworking her game with biomechanic coach Gavin MacMillan, notably overhauling her serve for greater consistency and working to come forward to the net more often. She also touched on lessons learned from a difficult tournament last year, describing it as one of her toughest experiences on and off the court.