The Game Behind the Game
Forget the polished press conferences.
In sit-down interviews with The Daniel Island News and other print media outlets, some of COCO’s biggest names traded safe answers for honesty, opening up about the pressure, quirks, and competitive edge that fuel their game. From title-defending mindsets to oddly specific match-day rituals, these are the moments, habits, and thoughts fans don’t usually get to hear but won’t forget once they do.
Q: Tell me the upside and the downside of being defending champion.
Jessica Pegula, 2025 COCO champion: “Well you don't always get to be a defending champion unless you win the tournament, so I think it's an honor and a privilege to come back as a defending champion, always. Not many people get to do that. I think it's fun, but at the same time, we're already back here, and I have to win it again, or else someone else is going to be the champion, so I think it's about balancing being happy to be back but then maybe a little bit more pressure. You can look at the positive or the negative sides of that, but I try not to think about it too much. I think as players, we're always aware that every week is a new week, there's a new winner every single week and you can't expect to win every single week but you can just look at it as a new tournament and day and match and trying to complete the same goal as you were last year. (I’m) looking forward to trying to do that.”
Q: As fans, sometimes from the outside, it can be dizzying to see players go through coaches and changes. You’ve been through some coaching changes in the last year. What makes for the perfect coach?
Diana Shnaider, World No. 19: “For me, the big thing is how I feel around the person. Obviously we travel nonstop everywhere together; I see my coach more than my family, so it definitely should be the person who I really trust, who I can have fun with, but also who I can be upset with and who I can share my thoughts with. But at the same time, I need a person who can push me on the court and have the same vision of what we want to achieve, the same vision of my game style. Then, even if the results are not there but you know you're putting in the work and your coach is putting in the work, you know what you're working on and you know what you want to achieve together. I think that’s the most important for me.”
Q: You recently posted a pretty vulnerable Instagram story detailing some of your struggles in the last year and grappling with fear. You said sometimes you can'tcontrol certain voices inside your head. Can you speak about those voices and the fears you're trying to overcome right now?
Paula Badosa, former World. No. 2: “I think we all have two voices in our head. Sometimes you can control the negative a bit better, and then there are other times you cannot, and I think I'm in a bit of that situation right now. For me personally, it has been very tough in the last year when I got injured. The moment I got (the injury) and what it took me to get that in that place again, seeing it escape from my hands again, was very difficult because I wasn't expecting it. So when I started this year now, it was tough to control my mind, and I was being very tough on myself, and I still am in a way because I want to recover the time I lost, and that's bringing me a bit of anxiety. It's a bit difficult for me because I'm not really used to being in the place I am now, so it hurts me to not see that my tennis it's where it's supposed to be or where I would like it to be. That’s the mental and inner battle I have with myself. I'm trying to see it with perspective and with patience, but I'm very competitive, so it's a tough balance to find.”
Q: We've seen you grow up on this tour and so much has happened in that time, from ups and downs, Olympic medals, to becoming a mom. When you think back on the young girl who turned pro, what would be your biggest words of advice to yourself?
Belinda Bencic, World No. 12: “I think to enjoy it all a little bit more. It went quicker than I thought, and everyone told me it would go very quickly, and I was like, ‘No, I have time.’ I would also maybe try to find the right people around you. Of course everyone tries that, but really taking more thought into building your team and improving yourself, your tennis. I’m always trying to improve, and I think you can never stop improving. Even if you're 35, 40 years old, you can still make things better. And I think it's really important to not look at the results in the first place but to really develop your game. And, of course, to enjoy life a little bit more. I think when we come here, we’re like, ‘Wow, this is my dream; I have to be very serious,’ but try to go out for dinner more and see more things.”
Q: Do you have a pre-game ritual or unusual habit you do before matches that fans would be surprised by?
Madison Keys, World No. 18: “I try to tell myself I'm not superstitious, but at the same time, I don't ever do the same thing the exact same way twice because then I would have to keep doing it. I've noticed I do a lot of weird things in practice or in matches, like if I've lost two games in a match and I drank my carb mix first and then my water, then the next game I'll switch it. Or if I had a bite of a banana and then lost a service game, I won't eat the banana for the rest of the match. So it's a lot of grasping at straws to feel like I'm in control more than I am.”
Q: In the past, it almost seems like you did better when you had a problem to solve on the court. Does that resonate with you?
Bianca Andreescu, U.S. Open Champion 2019: “Yeah, for sure. When there's more of a threat, if I'm down or if I'm playing somebody that I really want to beat, that extra threat gives me a bit of a push, but I've been working on trying to execute from A-Z the same and not relying on having a threat. I think that's why I do pretty good when there is a lot of pressure because of that threat. I want to be able to keep that leveled.”
Q: As a young player coming on tour, how important is it for you to reach back into the history of tennis and get advice from former players to aid in your journey?
Iva Jovic, World No. 16: “I think it's massive. They all went through the whole thing so they know exactly where I'm at and what I'm struggling with or what's going well. I think it's one thing for someone from the outside to tell you what you need to do, but it's a different thing from someone who's been there, done that, and achieved the ultimate success to kind of guide you in something that stays with you even longer than if someone else tells you. Andre (Agassi) is obviously a special guy and I think the way he talks about tennis is fascinating. It's obvious he's a very smart individual so it's very calculated, like a chess match, the way he speaks about it, so hopefully I can speak with him in the future.”