COCO GAUFF says the reason she broke down in tears on court last week was due to a panic attack.

But the highest-paid female sportswomen in the world has taken counsel from gymnastics legend Simone Biles about how to deal with the pressures of being the home-town star.

As the American, 21, struggled with her serve and saw the double-fault count rise in the second-round win over Donna Vekic last Thursday, she sat in her chair and began to sob under a towel.

The waterworks flowed even more post match as she was interviewed on court – a surprising state of affairs for something so high profile and famous.

It now transpires that Gauff – who is trying to fix her wayward serve MID-Slam – was suffering from the stress and anxiety of elite competition.

Gauff revealed, "It was a panic

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