3 min readUpdated: Mar 25, 2026 05:31 PM IST
2-time Grand Slam winning tennis star Coco Gauff recently opened up about dealing with ‘imposter syndrome’ where she doubts her position as one of the best and feels her achievements are not real. “I think I have to believe that I belong where I am. Sometimes I can get imposter syndrome,” she said in a press conference in the Miami Open.
“Even when they’re saying my accomplishments when I walk, or during the warm-up, it doesn’t feel like me. And I’m like, “Oh, actually, I do have a good career. But it doesn’t feel like that sometimes in the moment, because you’re working on things. My serve, it just feels like I don’t know that I shouldn’t be where I am, but tennis doesn’t lie. The ball doesn’t lie. So I just have to believe in myself. My coaches have been reminding me to remember who you are, and you’re a good player. I think they’ve been putting that into my head. And, at moments, I believe it, and at moments I don’t. So I’m just trying to believe it more,” she added.
On Tuesday, Gauff battled past Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in three sets to take a 6-3 1-6 6-3 win. With the win, world-number-four Gauff reached the semi-finals in Miami for the first time in her career, after failing to make it past the fourth round in her previous six attempts.
World number four and two-time Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff says she sometimes gets “imposter syndrome”. pic.twitter.com/o3thXiVuwc
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 25, 2026
What is imposter syndrome?
According to Aishwarya Raj, Clinical Psychologist, practising in Delhi NCR, who spoke to the Indian Express, “Imposter syndrome is also called perceived fraudulence. It involves feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite a person’s education, experience, and accomplishments.”
The expert highlighted that many people with imposter syndrome grew up in families that stressed success and achievements. To counter these feelings, they might end up working harder and holding themselves to ever higher standards. To overcome this feeling, Raj suggested decreasing your inability to realistically assess your competence and skills.
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