Coco Gauff “Soaks It All In” ... Through Prayer

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW217019041 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="auto">After claiming the U.S. Open’s Women’s Singles championship this week, Atlanta-born tennis star Coco Gauff paused to, in the words</span> <a href= "https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1700648869514609065"><span data-contrast="none"> of ESPN’s SportsCenter</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">, “soak it all in.” What she was really doing was kneeling with eyes closed and head bowed. In other words, she was praying, or a</span><span data-contrast="none">s</span> <a href= "https://www.foxnews.com/sports/coco-gauff-opens-up-us-open-prayer-saying-thank-you"> <span data-contrast="none">she told reporters later</span></a><span data-contrast="none">,</span> <span data-contrast="auto">“j</span><span data-contrast="none">ust saying thank you.” </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">At just 19 years old, Gauff is only</span> <a href= "https://www.deseret.com/faith/2023/9/9/23866135/is-coco-gauff-christian-us-open-win"> <span data-contrast="none">the third American teenager</span></a> <span data-contrast="auto">to win the U.S. Open, the most recent being Serena Williams in 1999. She broke onto the tennis scene by</span> <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/sports/cori-gauff-venus-williams-wimbledon.html"> <span data-contrast="none">defeating Venus Williams</span></a> <span data-contrast="auto">at Wimbledon when she was 15. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559731":720,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">All the while, her faith in Jesus Christ has been clear. She told</span> <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/magazine/coco-gauff-us-open.html"> <em><span data-contrast="none">The New York Times</span></em></a> <span data-contrast="auto">last year that she prays with her dad before every match—not for victory, but for the good health of both players.</span> <span data-contrast=