Coco Gauff on Her Longevity Workout and ‘Raw-Dogging’ US Open Training

Coco Gauff is not a morning person. Sure, she’s getting up at the crack of dawn — but not before hitting the snooze button for at least an hour first.

“I’m one of those people that needs a pre-alarm, so I’ll put an alarm super early at 5 or 5:30 in the morning and then go back to sleep, and then probably get out of bed at 6:30,” Gauff told Business Insider.

Gauff made her debut as a tennis pro at age 14 and hasn’t looked back. She burst onto the scene, beating her idol, Venus Williams, at just 15 at Wimbledon. Since then, she’s won two Grand Slams — the 2023 US Open and the 2025 French Open — placing her among the most accomplished female athletes in the world.

Along the way, she’s netted endorsements with global brands like Rolex, Ray Ban, and New Balance, including a signature shoe. As of 2025, Gauff is pulling in an estimated $25 million in endorsements, plus around $12.2 million in winnings, according to Forbes.

All this before most young adults have even graduated from college.

Every day of training is still an investment in her future, Gauff told Business Insider in an interview ahead of the US Open, arranged through her latest partnership, a signature smoothie from Naked.

Gauff’s approach to her career is a study in contrasts between Gen Z nonchalance and the underlying edge of discipline befitting a veteran athlete. Her training regimen centers on agility as much as strength, and she’s adjusted her serve to be more about spin than speed. Still, she chafes against precision diets, often “raw-dogging” a workout (going without snacks) and trying not to think too hard about what’s on her plate.

Striking that balance — finding the synergy of rigorous training with a flexible diet — is the foundation of Gauff’s athleticism and how she plans to keep growing her legacy.

Working out for longevity

Gauff starts her workouts at 8 a.m. to beat the sweltering midday heat, a year-round staple of Delray Beach, Florida, where she lives with her parents.

“I’m still waking up in the morning. There’s no mindset to go into it, but by the time my hour warmup is ready, then I’m fully awake,” she said.

Beyond practicing tennis skills, Gauff spends long hours of strength training to build resilience, with exercises linked to longevity benefits, too.

She uses movement combos to train for explosive power, like a weighted squat to a box jump. Exercises like banded “monster walks” and toe lifts help boost agility and protect the joints, muscles, and bones from wear and tear.

“The main thing is a lot of injury prevention, which is great for any sport, but especially in tennis, because you are using those smaller muscles that you may not work on as much,” Gauff said. “It’s a lot of really boring exercises that actually matter a lot.”

It might not be flashy, but it works.

“I haven’t had a big injury yet, so I’m going to keep doing it,” she said.

How to eat like an athlete

Even harder than the training itself is finding the time and energy for the full-time job of eating like a pro athlete.

The biggest sports stars typically have their nutrition dialed in to an exact science. A strict meal schedule ensures the right balance of calories for peak performance so an athlete isn’t too hungry, too full, or suffering a indigestion at a critical moment.

For instance, Michael Phelps relied on massive amounts of pasta, omelettes, and sandwiches to power his gold-medal training. NFL icon Tom Brady finessed every last detail of his diet, from the exact specs of his smoothie recipe to the pH level of his veggie selection.

That’s not how Gauff does it.

“I just go out there and raw dog it, to be honest,” Gauff said about her strategy to stay fueled during training. It’s a habit she’s working to change, eating more regularly to make sure she’s getting the right nutrients and to prevent excessive strain on her body.

“My hardest part is definitely fueling while I’m having those long practices because I don’t feel really hungry,” she said.

Her go-to snack is fruit — carbs for quick energy and to help with muscle recovery. During the 2023 US Open, she went viral for eating fruit salad out of a reusable plastic container between matches. Her mom or dad packs it for her pre-competition, and ingredients vary: often pineapple (her favorite), grapes, honeydew, cantaloupe, or watermelon.

Gauff said she also aims to get protein throughout the day from shakes and lots of eggs. When her appetite cooperates, she’ll have eggs paired with toast for breakfast around 7:30 a.m. before working out and hard-boiled as a snack after the first training session ends around 11 a.m.

“I always need protein. I take protein after practice, but to have it throughout the day on the go definitely helps a lot,” she said.

Lunch and dinner are often salads, lean meats like chicken, and potatoes for more carbs.

Right now, she doesn’t stick to a specific diet, a habit ingrained in her by her parents, who wanted her to avoid restriction and still be able to eat like a teenager even after she went pro. She loves fast food like burgers and fries or Chick-fil-A. She also enjoys sweet treats like brownies and ice cream, and, if she had her way, would eat pancakes for breakfast every day, Women’s Health reported.

“I feel like as long as you’re getting what you need, then everything is good in moderation,” Gauff told Business Insider.

At the ripe old age of 21, however, Gauff told me she’s becoming “more aware” of what she eats. That’s why protein, optimal hydration, and more regular snacking have become priorities.

Still, the best part of her routine is when she finishes her to-do list at around 2 p.m. and gets to go back to being just like any other 20-something.

“I just kind of have the day to myself to do whatever I do, whether it’s go out with friends or literally just sit at home and do nothing,” she said.