2024 US Open: Coco Gauff's rising career hits a bump before she defends her first Grand Slam title

NEW YORK (AP) — Yes, Coco Gauff is a Grand Slam champion. Yes, she's been ranked No. 1 in doubles and No. 2 in singles. Yes, she's already a big star who transcends her sport and was a flag bearer alongside LeBron James at the Paris Olympics ... and has a signature shoe ... and is featured on Wheaties boxes and ... and ... and ...

And yet, back in New York for Monday's start of the U.S. Open, which she won a year ago for her first major trophy — the first American teen to do so since Serena Williams in 1999 — Gauff still occasionally might sound like someone who deals with impostor syndrome.

Put simply: She does not quite understand what all the fuss is about.

“I just thought I was nobody,” Gauff said. “The whole flag bearer thing is still mind-blowing to me. Like, ’Why am I up there?'”