Coco Gauff hopes to embrace the ‘ups and downs’ of her inconsistent 2024 season

Coco Gauff snapped her three-match losing streak with an opening round victory at Indian Wells.

Coco Gauff hopes to embrace the ‘ups and downs’ of her inconsistent 2024 season

Coco Gauff (via X)

In a post-match press conference at Indian Wells, Coco Gauff reflected on her 2024 season. Gauff won three titles last year- the Auckland Open, the China Open, and the WTA Finals. She became the youngest player to win the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2004 and the first American to win the finals since Serena Williams in 2014.

At the 2024 French Open with new partner Katerina Siniakova, she clinched her first Grand Slam doubles title, defeating 11th seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the final. In singles, also at Roland Garros, Gauff reached the semifinals, where she was defeated by eventual champion Iga Swiatek, but despite the loss, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 2 in singles on 10 June 2024.

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I’m learning to accept the ups and downs. In sports, one always wants to stay on top and ride that wave, but in a sport like tennis, where the season is so long, it’s impossible to stay on top all the time, there will always be lows. I just try to endure those tough moments and improve through them. I’ve never felt like the rest of the season was going to go this way, I feel like I can turn it around, as I have done before. You just need a couple of matches to regain that confidence.

Coco Gauff said to the reporters

In 2024, Coco Gauff was also the highest-paid female athlete. She made an estimated $34.4 million, according to Forbes, with $9.4 million coming from her on-court earnings—including the record prize purse of US$4.8 million at WTA Finals Riyadh—and the other $25 million reportedly coming from her massive sponsorship portfolio.

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To begin the 2025 season, Gauff participated in the United Cup, where the United States team won the title against Poland. In the final, Gauff outplayed world number 2 Iga Swiatek in straight sets. Gauff was undefeated across the tournament.

Coco Gauff has her first win since Australian Open exit

After the United Cup victory, Coco Gauff competed in the Australian Open, where she lost to Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. Since the Australian Open exit, Gauff has faced an opening round defeat in both the Qatar Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (via Instagram)

Gauff lost to Marta Kostyuk in Doha and to compatriot McCartney Kessler in Dubai. However, Gauff has now put an end to her losing streak as she defeated Moyuka Uchijima in her opening round match at Indian Wells.

Facing world No. 52 Uchijima, Gauff racked up 21 double faults and accumulated more than 70 unforced errors. The world No. 3 snapped a three-match losing streak with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) victory in more than two hours. Gauff will face Maria Sakkari in the next round of Indian Wells.