Coco Gauff Reveals Real Reason Behind Her Decision to Skip Citi Open

Coco Gauff will lock horns with Danielle Collins to kick-start her Canadian Open campaign.

Coco Gauff Reveals Real Reason Behind Her Decision to Skip Citi Open

Coco Gauff (Image via Coco Gauff's X account)

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Coco Gauff will be playing the Canadian Open to kick-start her campaign in the North American hard-court swing. Gauff chose not to play the home tournament, the Citi Open, and has explained the reason behind her decision.

After her impressive performance on the clay swing, Gauff had failed to secure a set in the two tournaments she played on grass. On the clay swing, the two-time Grand Slam singles champion reached the finals of the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, losing both to World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and home favorite Jasmine Paolini, respectively.

But later, she reached the French Open singles final for the second time. Gauff was pitted against the Belarusian ace, whom she denied the title with a three-set win, lifting her second French Open title (her first being the doubles one she lifted along with Katerina Siniakova in 2024).

But on grass, the World No.2 lost to Wang Xinyu in the opening round of the Berlin Open. Then at Wimbledon, Dayana Yastremska ended her campaign in the opening round.

Gauff had enough time in her hands to rest and recover before the Citi Open. But instead of playing the WTA 500 event in Washington, she chose to have a training block. She said in her pre-tournament press conference:

Yeah, it was nice to actually have some time in between. That’s why I didn’t play D.C., because I wanted to just have a real training block, which I hadn’t had in a while, just because of how our schedule is.

Gauff is a former champion in Washington. Back in 2022, she went past Maria Sakkari to lift her second title of that season.

Being back in Montreal is great, and it’s definitely refreshing. I like that they change it every other year just because it feels different each time. Yeah, I’m happy to be back here. I like this tournament a lot and would love to do great here one of these years.

Coco Gauff added

The 21-year-old has never reached the final of the Canadian Open. Gauff, however, has the Cincinnati Masters under her belt. Back in 2023, she defeated Karolina Muchova to win the title.

Coco Gauff credits Serena Williams and Venus Williams for making tennis a popular sport in the US

In the pre-tournament press conference, Coco Gauff was asked what she thinks are the main factors behind the popularity of tennis in the United States. Gauff credited the Williams sisters, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, for the growth of tennis.

Venus Williams Serena Williams
Venus Williams and Serena Williams (image via Instagram/ Venus Williams)

Yeah, I think, well, I guess if we go like long-term effect, for sure, the Williams sisters and…making tennis feel like more of a popular sport for the people to play in the US.

Currently, five American players are occupying spots in the top 11 of the rankings table. They are – Gauff, World No.4 Jessica Pegula, World No.7 Amanda Anisimova, World No.8 Madison Keys, and World No.11 Emma Navarro.

Serena called time on her career at the 2022 US Open. Venus is still playing and recently participated in the Citi Open, where she beat Peyton Stearns before losing the second-round match against Magdalena Frech. She has also accepted the wild card for the Cincinnati Masters.

Coco Gauff to face Danielle Collins in the first round

In her opening round, Gauff will be locking horns with compatriot Danielle Collins for the first time in her career. Collins knocked out Viktoriya Tomova in the previous round.

Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins (Image via X/#AusOpen)

While Gauff has lifted one title so far this season, Collins hasn’t yet reached a final. Last year, she had played three finals, winning the Charleston Open and the Miami Open, and facing defeat at the Strasbourg Open.

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