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<\/source><\/picture>A tennis star is expressing gratitude to God after winning her second major competition in two weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
American tennis player Coco Gauff became the 2023 Western & Southern Open Women\u2019s Single Champion after winning a match at the annual tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday. In remarks<\/a> following her victory, she declared, \u201cI would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI spent a lot of nights alone, crying, trying to figure it out,\u201d the 19-year-old athlete added. While acknowledging that she still had \u201ca lot to figure out,\u201d Gauff proclaimed, \u201cI thank Him for covering me.\u201d<\/p>\n Gauff also showcased her Christian faith in an Instagram post <\/a>celebrating her victory over the Czech Republic\u2019s Karolina Muchova in the Women\u2019s Tennis Association 1000 event. \u201cMost importantly, thank you, God, for always keeping me covered,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sunday was not the first time<\/a> Gauff has given thanks to God for her athletic accomplishments. After winning the Mubadala Citi DC Open women\u2019s final two weeks ago, the tennis player said, \u201cI\u2019d like to thank my Father, God for this.\u201d<\/p>\n Noting her loss at the Wimbledon tournament in the previous month, Gauff credited \u201ca lot of prayer and a lot of support from my church family\u201d with enabling her to secure victory at the tennis match: \u201cThank you to Him and those who support me.\u201d<\/p>\n Gauff previously discussed the importance of her faith in a 2019 interview<\/a> with The New York Times. She discussed how \u201cbefore every match since I was 8, my dad and I say a prayer together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t really pray about victory, just that me and my opponent stay safe,\u201d the then-15-year-old insisted. Gauff told the publication that after she defeated her idol Venus Williams at that year\u2019s Wimbledon Match, she \u201cwas just thanking God for this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Gauff\u2019s victory over the famed tennis star came in the same year that she became the youngest woman to qualify for Wimbledon in the tournament\u2019s history, while Williams was the oldest player to qualify for the annual open that year.<\/p>\n Three years later, in an interview<\/a> with The New York Times Magazine, Gauff reiterated that she and her father pray before every game for the health of both herself and her opponent. She contended that \u201cit would be stupid to waste a prayer on results.\u201d<\/p>\n Gauff acknowledged Muchova in her victory speech Sunday: \u201cI would like to congratulate Karolina on an incredible run this tournament. I\u2019ve always been watching you and seeing that she\u2019s such an incredible player. It\u2019s \u2026 good to see you healthy on tour. I think you\u2019re going to keep going. I\u2019m sure we\u2019re going to have many more tournaments like this and, hopefully, on an even bigger stage than this one. So, congrats to you and your team over there for all the progress that you guys have made.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n