Coco Gauff considers the connection between graduating high school and her best Grand Slam finish, all in 2 weeks

• Coco Gauff celebrated graduating from high school with a photo shoot in front of the Eiffel Tower.
• Over the next two weeks, the 18-year-old American star enjoyed the best Grand Slam run of her career.

Coco Gauff has enjoyed an incredible start to the summer.

The 18-year-old American tennis superstar graduated high school in May. She celebrated the accomplishment — one she cherishes just as much as any sporting feat — by getting "all dressed up" and taking photos in her cap and gown with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

With her studies in the rearview mirror — at least for now, as she confirmed to Insider she intends to go to college someday — Gauff got to work on the famous clay courts at Roland-Garros. Her best-ever results at a Grand Slam followed.

"I think it was all about perspective," Gauff told Insider. "I know that winning or losing doesn't define who I am as a tennis player or what kind of person I am off the court."

"Also, not having school work for the first time at a tournament may have helped too," she added with a laugh.

Gauff advanced to the final in both the singles and doubles tournaments — a feat she'd never before accomplished on the singles side. She attributed that success, at least in part, to feeling "really relaxed" throughout the tournament.

Though she had tons of eyes on her at Roland-Garros — one of the most prestigious and closely watched events in all of tennis — Gauff leaned on her considerable experience in her "favorite city" to put her at ease. She's traveled to Paris regularly since she was 10 years old, won the junior French Open there at 14, and advanced to the quarterfinal of the women's draw just last year.

She said she she went out to dinners, "took walks every day to clear my head," and successfully avoided fixating on the tournament.

"It was nice to get out and see a little of the city," Gauff added.

But once she hit the court, she was fully focused and on a tear. With a new coach, as of April, who helped her with "improving different technical aspects of my game," Gauff was prepared to take down anyone she faced across the net.

She didn't drop a single set in the singles tournament until she reached the final. And even as the championship match against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek slipped away from her, Gauff maintained her composure, battled valiantly, and reminded herself that "I can only control what I can control."

"I think I have just grown and become more mature about how to handle myself when things aren't going well," she explained, adding: "No matter who is on the other side of the net I make sure to stay in the moment and focus on myself and play my own game."

She's matured in other aspects of life, too. The recent high school graduate has become quite a shrewd businesswoman, and her latest venture is in the Web3 space.

Gauff is one of five young superstar athletes spotlighted in Autograph's "The Future is…" campaign. She says her three-NFT collection — designed by up-and-coming artists — is "fun, colorful, strong and has anime/superhero influence."

"I am always excited to interact and grow closer to my fans, so entering the Web3 space provided a new way to do that," Gauff said. "I was interested in collaborating and creating something different, and I saw the Web3 industry as the next thing for me to explore."

Gauff is set to compete at Wimbledon later this month. She's advanced to the fourth round in each of her two appearances at the Grand Slam — including in 2019, when she burst onto the scene upon beating Venus Williams at just 15 years old.

Between Gauff's past successes in the UK and her high level of play coming out of Roland-Garros, her near future looks bright.