Coco Gauff's Viral 2023 US Open Speech Inspired Her American Eagle Collection in the Most Boss Way (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Coco Gauff for American Eagle.Photo:JP Yim/Getty

JP Yim/Getty

Coco Gauff has always had a clear message for her haters — and she gave it to them when she won herfirst grand slam last year.After Gauff, 20, won the US Open in September 2023, she thanked those who helped her along the way — including those who tore her down. Within herspeech after her win, Gauff said, “Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me.“It was the speech heard ‘round the world and made everyone listen to the teen tennis player.And when it came time for Gauff to design her first collection with American Eagle — a brand she’d been modeling for and working with since she was 16 — it was that simple sentence that became the focal point of the main piece in the capsule.Coco Gauff for American Eagle.JP Yim/GettyHerdenim-forward collectionincludes an oversize jacket with the phrase written on the back. Gauff told reporters at a New York dinner on Aug. 21 that she thinks her message is “something I feel like a lot of people can relate to, especially people at this table who have seen all the internet trolls or most people in their workplace not believing in them.“She added that sometimes she’ll “read stuff [online] on purpose to just like, fuel me,” and “use it as motivation” to prove her naysayers wrong. The tennis champ even wore a customized blinged-out version of her jacket for the event to show it off.The viral message to the haters — which she admitted was partially born out of her penchant for being “petty and stubborn” — was also a bit of a slip-up on her part, though. She said she had forgotten to thank her parents after a match earlier in the year, and in trying to make sure she thanked everyone on her mental checklist, the people whodidn’tbelieve in her also made the cut, because they also keep her going when she needs that extra push.The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Coco Gauff for American Eagle.JP Yim/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Haters aside, Gauff couldn’t be more proud of what she created with American Eagle.“I just love the brand, and to be able to do something off court was really exciting for me because most of the things I do are on the court,” Gauff tells PEOPLE exclusively of working with American Eagle on this collection. “So it was really cool to do something on the more casual side off court, which I feel represents me because most people see me as just a tennis player, but obviously I’m like any other 20-year-old girl. I have other interests.“The American Eagle collection allowed Gauff to tap into her fashionable side, and she tells PEOPLE one of her biggest fashion interests is denim, so this was a match made in heaven for her. As someone who has been shopping with the brand since long before she started working with them, getting to go behind the scenes of the creation process was “amazing,” she says.“Some of the things in the collection, I didn’t even think could happen in clothes,” she tells PEOPLE. “It was really cool working with them on the whole process, and my favorite piece is definitely the jacket with that nod to the US Open ceremony last year. But I love the denim corset, too.“Also in her collection are a pair of crossover jeans and a pleated miniskirt, as well as two sweater tank tops.“I’ve always been a jean girl, so working with such an iconic jeans company is exciting,” Gauff gushes. “I’m glad I get to have something that is truly mine that I can share with other people.“Gauff’s American Eagle collectionis available to shop now.

Coco Gauff has always had a clear message for her haters — and she gave it to them when she won herfirst grand slam last year.

After Gauff, 20, won the US Open in September 2023, she thanked those who helped her along the way — including those who tore her down. Within herspeech after her win, Gauff said, “Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me.”

It was the speech heard ‘round the world and made everyone listen to the teen tennis player.

And when it came time for Gauff to design her first collection with American Eagle — a brand she’d been modeling for and working with since she was 16 — it was that simple sentence that became the focal point of the main piece in the capsule.

Coco Gauff for American Eagle.JP Yim/Getty

Herdenim-forward collectionincludes an oversize jacket with the phrase written on the back. Gauff told reporters at a New York dinner on Aug. 21 that she thinks her message is “something I feel like a lot of people can relate to, especially people at this table who have seen all the internet trolls or most people in their workplace not believing in them.”

She added that sometimes she’ll “read stuff [online] on purpose to just like, fuel me,” and “use it as motivation” to prove her naysayers wrong. The tennis champ even wore a customized blinged-out version of her jacket for the event to show it off.

The viral message to the haters — which she admitted was partially born out of her penchant for being “petty and stubborn” — was also a bit of a slip-up on her part, though. She said she had forgotten to thank her parents after a match earlier in the year, and in trying to make sure she thanked everyone on her mental checklist, the people whodidn’tbelieve in her also made the cut, because they also keep her going when she needs that extra push.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Haters aside, Gauff couldn’t be more proud of what she created with American Eagle.

“I just love the brand, and to be able to do something off court was really exciting for me because most of the things I do are on the court,” Gauff tells PEOPLE exclusively of working with American Eagle on this collection. “So it was really cool to do something on the more casual side off court, which I feel represents me because most people see me as just a tennis player, but obviously I’m like any other 20-year-old girl. I have other interests.”

The American Eagle collection allowed Gauff to tap into her fashionable side, and she tells PEOPLE one of her biggest fashion interests is denim, so this was a match made in heaven for her. As someone who has been shopping with the brand since long before she started working with them, getting to go behind the scenes of the creation process was “amazing,” she says.

“Some of the things in the collection, I didn’t even think could happen in clothes,” she tells PEOPLE. “It was really cool working with them on the whole process, and my favorite piece is definitely the jacket with that nod to the US Open ceremony last year. But I love the denim corset, too.”

Also in her collection are a pair of crossover jeans and a pleated miniskirt, as well as two sweater tank tops.

“I’ve always been a jean girl, so working with such an iconic jeans company is exciting,” Gauff gushes. “I’m glad I get to have something that is truly mine that I can share with other people.”

Gauff’s American Eagle collectionis available to shop now.

source: people.com