Coco Gauff explains how Alysa Liu inspired her at the Miami Open this year

Coco Gauff was still in positive spirits even after losing in the final of the Miami Open.

Gauff had shown resurgent form at the Miami Open this year, with some concern about the American’s form and fitness coming into her home WTA 1000 tournament.

The 22-year-old had never even reached the quarterfinals in Miami before, but Gauff managed to make it all the way to the final this year.

Gauff was beaten by world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the final, but was taking inspiration from Winter Olympic gold medallist Alysa Liu after her defeat.

Coco Gauff says she was inspired by Alysa Liu after Miami Open final loss

Gauff watched the Winter Olympic Games last month, and had spoken about her admiration for both Liu and Chloe Kim.

In her post-match press conference after losing to Sabalenka, Gauff spoke about how grateful she was to even be in the final in Miami with her family supporting, claiming that she had been inspired by Liu.

Gauff also vowed to come back to the Miami Open and take home the winner’s trophy in the future.

“I think I can talk down on myself, but in that moment…you know an athlete that I was inspired by at the Winter Olympics was Alysa Liu,” said Gauff. “I had the mindset today that it doesn’t matter what happens, you lose but there’s no real loss in this situation.

“I was just looking at my box and seeing all my family and friends and hearing them in the crowd, I know how much they supported me to be on this stage, so I was just thinking more gratitude and things like that.

“It is a mindset shift, because as soon as you lose a final it’s tough. You can see on the bench before, I was thinking about the match and replaying all the points.

“Then after it’s over you just learn from it and yeah I’m grateful, because I didn’t think I’d be here and I’m here, and I know that I can repeat this and come with the bigger trophy, and I feel confident in that.”

What is next for Coco Gauff after her loss in the Miami Open final?

Gauff will rise back up to world number three in the WTA rankings after the Miami Open, but she has a significant number of ranking points to defend over the next couple of months during the clay court season.

Last year, Gauff won her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, and also reached the final of WTA 1000 tournaments in Rome and Madrid.

As a result, Gauff has a total of 3408 ranking points to defend during the clay court season, which is nearly half of her current ranking total.

It is also more than every player on the WTA Tour, meaning that Gauff is at risk of dropping down the rankings if she does not perform well again on clay.

Gauff will begin her clay court season in Stuttgart, which is her biggest chance to gain ranking points after reaching the quarterfinals last year.

The Women’s Stuttgart Open will begin on April 13, and also features Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek.