Coco Gauff Reveals Brutal Truth About Having More ‘Peers’ on the Tour After Being Isolated with the Previous Generation of Tennis Players

Coco Gauff had her best performance of the year at the Madrid Open, and she is looking to continue her strong form in the Italian Open.

Coco Gauff Reveals Brutal Truth About Having More ‘Peers’ on the Tour After Being Isolated with the Previous Generation of Tennis Players

Coco Gauff (Image via X/The Tennis Podcast)

At the press conference ahead of the Italian Open, Coco Gauff spoke about how hard it was for her to make friends on the tour when she first arrived. This was because the American was much younger than the rest, only 15 years old when she first arrived. 

She talked about how there weren’t other girls aged 15-16 playing these tournaments, the closest one Gauff recalls was Iga Swiatek, and she was 19-20. Gauff was only 19 when she won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. 

From a competitive perspective, it doesn’t matter to me. When I was younger, I never cared about my age or other factors like that. Personally, it’s great to have people my age on the circuit. I have always said that I found it hard to make friends on the tour when I first arrived because I was much younger than the rest, only 15 years old. There weren’t other girls aged 15-16 playing these tournaments, the closest one maybe was Iga and she was 19-20. Now I have more peers, and that makes a difference, I see that I am in a different place, I can have more conversations and connect. I’m not saying the older ones weren’t nice to me, they were, but it’s just different, they were talking about getting married or planning their lives.

Coco Gauff at the Italian Open press conference

Although the World No. 3 has struggled with her form mostly this season, even dipping in rankings, she made a strong comeback at the Madrid Open. Gauff faced Swiatek in the semifinals of the tournament, decimating the World No. 2 on her favorite surface. Entering the semifinals, Swiatek had an 11-3 head-to-head record against Gauff. Moreover, Swiatek was 5-0 against Gauff on clay. 

However, none of these statistics mattered that day, as Gauff defeated the Pole 6-1, 6-1. Gauff then went on to face World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the finals, albeit losing to her in straight sets. This marked the first final of the season for Gauff, who had until then not made it beyond the quarterfinals of any tournament this season.

Gauff gained a significant boost in rankings to reach 6,603 points and is very close to Swiatek now, who is at 6,773. Swiatek will have 1000 points to defend in the Italian Open, which puts her on thin ice regarding the rankings. 

Coco Gauff will partner with Alexandra Eala for doubles in the Italian Open

Coco Gauff will be aiming for her second clay court title at the Italian Open. She will face Victoria Mboko in the opening round of the tournament. The 21-year-old can potentially meet Aryna Sabalenka again in the semifinals of the tournament. 

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (via X)

However, fans are also excited to see Gauff compete in doubles, where she will partner with another young star, Alexandra Eala. Eala, rose to prominence after her sensational run in the Miami Open, where she reached the semifinals as a wildcard, defeating three Grand Slam champions on her way in straight sets. The Filipina defeated Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek in the Miami Open before losing to Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.


Gauff has finished runner-up in the doubles discipline in the last two editions at the Italian Open with two different partners— Pegula in 2023 and Erin Routliffe in 2024. For Eala, this marks her doubles debut at the WTA 1000 level. The two will face Alexandra Panova and Fanny Stollar in their opening round at the Italian capital.

Also Read: Iga Swiatek Blames Lack of Rest for Double-Breadstick Defeat to Coco Gauff in Madrid