From highs to lows, it’s been a weird start to the season for Coco Gauff. By the time she reached the Australian Open quarterfinals after helping Team USA clinch the United Cup, she had won 22 of her previous 24 singles matches. However, a loss to Paula Badosa in Melbourne put her on a steep downward curve, as she later witnessed two early exits in the Middle East, precisely in Doha and Dubai. The 20-year-old, quite naturally, opted for a short break, during which she indulged in the brand promotions and….well, let’s not forget. The 20-year-old also stunned at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in a stunning custom yellow Miu Miu gown. However, now she’s yet again back to ‘business’! And she’s quite optimistic about making a strong turnaround as well.
Coco Gauff currently has a win-loss record of 9-3 this season. Following her disappointing results in the Middle East swing, Gauff had a lot of flak. Addressing all of those at the Indian Wells pre-tournament press conference, she said, “Everybody makes a bigger deal than what it is. I lost two matches. Everyone is, like, `Oh, she’s sinking.’ OK, we’ve been through this. I’ll pick it back up.” Well, Coco sees these losses as a part of her journey and rightly so, but at the same time, she vows to make a strong comeback at the so-called ‘fifth Grand Slam’ as well.
However, the road to glory at the Indian Wells would be a bit challenging for Coco! Reason? Indian Wells has changed their surface provider after almost 25 years. This year, they’ve decided to make a switch from Plexipave to Laykold. Indian Wells has long been known for featuring slow, hard courts. Players are quite accustomed to getting a higher bounce on this surface. However, with this recent change, a faster and lower bounce surface is expected. Laykold provides playing surfaces for the Miami Open, US Open, Cincinnati Open, and also the National Bank Open (Montreal and Toronto) as well.
What does Coco Gauff have to say about this? Well, the former US Open champion sees some light at the end of the tunnel with these changes. After her recent struggle in the Middle East, she believes these new conditions may give her some better results this time. She said, “I don’t know if you guys notice, but in Doha, a lot of the flatter-hitting girls did better there. The ball doesn’t bounce as much a little bit for us who play with more spin. Yeah, I think that was one of the things. In Dubai, I mean, I’m not using excuses, it’s just being real, some conditions don’t favor certain people.”
Continuing further, she added, “If you look at all the matchups, a lot of the flatter-hitting girls end up doing better there, whereas maybe here it’s a little bit better for us who hit with more spin because the ball bounces on the court more.“
Coco Gauff has a record of 9-4 at the BNP Paribas Open. She has failed to reach the final at the Indian Wells in her previous appearances. The 20-year-old was defeated by Simona Halep in the first round in 2022. However, a year later, she made a strong comeback and reached the QF, but was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka. Then, in 2024, she went a step further, Maria Sakkari didn’t let her reach the summit clash.
Looking at the steady progression, we can surely expect something big from Gauff this time. She’s all set to start her campaign against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the R64. Can she become the first American woman after Serena Williams (2001) to win the Indian Wells Open title? Or will it be one of her fellow countrywomen?
Coco Gauff is hopeful about American women’s chances at the Indian Wells this time
American women’s tennis players have been in red-hot form this year. Apart from Madison Keys’ heroics at the Adelaide International and the AO, we’ve seen several of them, including Jessica Pegula, land a title and this is what fills Coco with optimism about the American tennis on a whole.
Coco Gauff wasn’t even born when Serena Williams won the title. So, it has been a long gap! However, talking about the possibility of ending the drought this time, Gauff said, “I was in the semis last year, so I was hoping it would be me. Hopefully, this year we can, and if it’s not me I hope it’s an American. I just feel like this is the biggest tournament we probably have outside of US Open, and we have to somehow figure out how to bring the Cup home.“
Will this new surface help the Americans? Time will tell, but we’ve been getting mixed reactions on this. The world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, said she “loves” faster surfaces, and even Elena Rybakina echoed her thoughts, saying, “The court is still nice.” However, the 2024 champion, Iga Swiatek, said she doesn’t want to overthink; instead, all she now wants is to just go out and play her own game. Which player do you think will get the most advantage from this new surface at the Indian Wells?
