As Coco Gauff prepares for Wimbledon—where she’s yet to reach a quarterfinal—she’s leaned into a cherished off-court ritual: nothingness. After the 2024 Paris Olympics, she spent two restorative days at home in Delray Beach doing exactly that with her 11-year-old brother Cameron. “We literally just stayed at home and just did nothing. Just watched Love Island together,” Gauff had shared, adding that “self‑care can just feel like too much work… I just want to just do nothing and just sit and just rot, literally.” And now, even in 2025, Love Island USA Season 7 is still her alternative escape.

Set in a drama‑filled villa in Fiji with romance, recouplings, challenges and a $100,000 prize at stake, the show clearly captivates Gauff’s attention. She’s not just a casual viewer—she votes on recoupling outcomes, jokes along with the drama, and reacts vividly to each twist. In fact, ahead of the June 15 Episode 12 recoupling, she tweeted: “Love Island tonight was messssyyy” and playfully confessed, “Me acting shocked at the results even though that’s exactly what I voted for.”

And now, just days before Wimbledon, Gauff surprised fans with a raw tweet about how deeply the show moved her.

Taking to her official X handle, she tweeted: “girl the last time I cried that hard was when iron man died in endgame. i love me some olandria! but it looks like they will be coming back so this episode was more like my infinity war #loveislandsusa #marvel.” — plus a follow-up: “this episode had me boo hoo crying, thank you for including that ending because I really was about to go off #LoveIslandUSA”

This isn’t the first time Gauff’s emotions have flowed publicly, though. Her candidness spans beyond TV: at Roland Garros, she cried after losses (2022 final vs. Swiatek) and tears of joy followed her tough win over Sabalenka in 2025, making her the first American woman since Serena to win again in Paris. Off-court, she thanks family—her brothers as her “why” and emotional anchors—often crediting them for keeping her grounded. 

Going into Wimbledon, Gauff is mindful that grass has been her trickiest surface. She exited in the second round in Berlin, falling to qualifier Xinyu Wang. Still, resilience seems ingrained: former pro CoCo Vandeweghe points out that setbacks like Berlin often fuel Gauff’s motivation, calling her “the ultimate competitor”. So yes, it’s not all about tears. Plus, while Coco Gauff has worn her heart on her sleeve off the court, she’s also spoken with striking clarity about what brings her genuine joy on it—and how redefining her relationship with tennis has made all the difference.

 Inside Coco Gauff’s mental reset that changed everything

Following her win at the 2025 French Open,  Coco Gauff opened up about one of the biggest shifts in her career—learning not to let the sport consume her. “I realized that I have to look at the positives and control my own narrative and not let the narrative control me,” she said in a post-tournament interview. “I felt like I was letting the tennis control my emotions, control my self-worth, control how I approach life and friendships, and I realized it should be the opposite.” The difference, she said, came from consciously stepping away from the echo chamber of rankings, results, and pressure—and allowing more room for family, friendships, concerts, and everyday joy.

This wasn’t just philosophical talk—it was visible. During her French Open run, Gauff looked looser between points, more grounded in rallies, and emotionally unshaken by difficult moments. “I started to welcome more friends in my life,” she said. “More family, enjoying those experiences, taking trips… and I think the more I did that, the more I found happiness on the court.” It was a mindset reset that helped her flip the script: less about perfection, more about presence.

She’s still the fierce competitor who broke through at 15. But in 2025, Gauff isn’t playing to prove something. And as Wimbledon looms, she’s arriving with not just a new surface to conquer, but a new sense of self already fully intact.