Interview - Coco Gauff: 'I have unfinished business at Roland-Garros'

“As I get older, honestly, I feel like I love the sport more than when I was 17, 18, just because I felt more pressure then because of how I just came and started,” Gauff told reporters in Indian Wells this week.

Gauff broke through on Tour at the age of 15, storming to the Wimbledon fourth round as a qualifier, defeating the legendary Venus Williams en route.

At 18, she made it to a major singles final for the first time, at Roland-Garros, and by 19, she became a Grand Slam champion at the 2023 US Open. Last season, Gauff was Team USA’s flagbearer at the Paris Olympics, alongside NBA great LeBron James.

As she turns 21 on Thursday, Gauff reflects on her biggest learnings from the past 12 months.

“I think just accepting the highs and lows. I think sometimes in sports you want to just stay on the high and kind of ride that wave, but especially with this sport, a season as long as tennis, it's impossible to always be on that high wave, and there's going to be some low moments, I think,” she said.

“Just trying to stick through those tough moments and get better through them. Not feeling like the rest of the season is going to go that way. I feel like I'm able to turn it around. It's happened before. I think it just takes one match or two matches to kind of get that confidence back.”

It is that level-headed mentality that has helped Gauff rebound from back-to-back opening round defeats in Doha and Dubai last month to storm into the Indian Wells fourth round, where she takes on Belinda Bencic on Wednesday.

Coming off a huge end to 2024, Gauff started 2025 with nine consecutive victories, going 5-0 to lift the United Cup trophy with USA before falling in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

“When you're coming off a good start to the season, you don't look to maintain it. I feel like I try to treat each part of the season in different sections. So regardless of something good or bad happens, it's a chance to reset,” she told rolandgarros.com in an interview in Dubai last month.

With a new chance to reset, Gauff flew from one desert to another, but before she touched down in Indian Wells, she made a stop in Los Angeles to attend the Oscars. Dressed in custom Miu Miu, she rubbed shoulders with Hollywood’s elite for one night of fun and escapism.

“It was cool to just be in a different space and a different world,” said Gauff, who was approached by the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Stiller at the Academy Awards.

“It was a fun event to meet people and I definitely was surprised most people knew who I was, which was weird.”

It may have felt weird to her but it’s certainly no surprise to us!

‘The goal is to be No.1, period’

It has been a big year so far for American women in tennis, with Madison Keys claiming a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Amanda Anisimova securing her first WTA 1000 crown in Doha, and McCartney Kessler, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro all clinching silverware.

There are currently four American women ranked in the top 10 – three in the top five – with Gauff at the helm, poised at No.3 in the world, ahead of Pegula, Keys, and Navarro.

Being American No.1 is not something Gauff preoccupies herself with, mostly because she knows that’s not her endgame.

“Honestly, it never meant anything to me. I just feel like all the people say it online. And for me, it really means absolutely nothing. I don't like to look at it. I don't care,” she admits.

“The reason it means nothing is because of the goal, obviously, is to be number one, period.

“But obviously, I am lucky to be surrounded by such great competition for my country. And all of us are friendly with each other and we root for each other. And I was just happy to see, Madison win and then seeing Amanda win – two people who I think rightfully and strongly deserve those titles.”

Inspired by Keys

Gauff found Keys’ triumph in Melbourne particularly inspiring given the manner in which her compatriot accomplished that feat. Just shy of her 30th birthday, Keys switched her racquet, overhauled her service motion, and adopted a new mindset that helped her capture that elusive Slam.

Gauff herself has been going through changes ever since she added Matt Daly to her coaching team last fall. She has been tinkering with her grip and making adjustments to her serve, which remains a work in progress.

“It was really great. I was rooting for her and she deserves that title so much,” said Gauff of Keys’ Australian Open success.

“It’s definitely inspiring just because I'm in that process (of making changes), and the fact that she committed to it maybe what people consider later in her career.”

Asked if the No.1 ranking is a top priority for her this year, Gauff said: “Yes and no. I've never been a rankings girl. Really, I want to just win Grand Slams. My dad always said, ‘the number, the ranking will come with the Slams’.

“So I think for me, I'm looking more at winning Slams. And if I win a Slam this year and don't become number one, I will be satisfied. I’ll be more satisfied than if I became number one and didn't win a Slam.”

‘I’m a good player on clay’

One major Gauff particularly has her sights set on is Roland-Garros, where she lost to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 final.

Swiatek has won four of the last five editions of Roland-Garros – including the last three – and has defeated Gauff on the Parisian clay at various stages in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Such is the Pole’s dominance on the red dirt that it feels like any player wanting to lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen these days must go through Swiatek first.

Is that how Gauff feels?

“Yes and no,” she muses.

“I think for me, well, because my head-to-head with her was more so just about beating her, period. But yeah, I haven't really gotten to think about that. I do think I am a good player on clay. And I know that if I want to win that tournament, I have to probably beat her, most likely.”

Gauff lost her first seven meetings with Swiatek before she finally improved her head-to-head against her to 3-11 overall. All three of Gauff’s victories against Swiatek have come on hard courts though.

“I think it's more so just training to be the best version of myself. And I think that that's the way I have been training,” added Gauff.

“And with my results against her in the past, it has not turned out my way. She's an unbelievable talent, on any surface, but especially on clay.

“So that would be a goal to win this tournament just because I did make the final. So I feel like I have a lot of unfinished business there. And yeah, she's definitely the number one person to beat when it comes to playing at Roland-Garros.”

Gauff is still young but given how early she broke through, this season is already her seventh on the WTA Tour.

With burnout emerging as a serious and common issue in all professional sports, but particularly tennis, many players have become more cautious when it comes to their scheduling – some even opting to take extended breaks for the circuit to preserve their mental and physical well-being.

Gauff hasn’t felt the need to take a break, so far, but knows it is inevitable given how taxing the tennis calendar can be.

“I guess the most important thing is just to not be physically burnt out, just because at the end of the day, when it’s time to retire, I want to make sure it's on my terms and not because of an injury or anything like that,” she says.

“So I think it's just more so protecting my love for the sport and hopefully that it treats me with that love, too.”