Coco Gauff Reveals Why Chasing World No. 1 Rank Isn’t Her Priority
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Becoming world No. 1 is one of the most significant achievements possible for ATP and WTA players, but Coco Gauff is not focused on doing that.
Gauff is currently the world No. 3. She jumped into that position after a strong end to last season, which included winning the 2024 WTA Finals and 2024 China Open. This vindicated her decision to split from Brad Gilbert after the 2024 US Open and hire Matt Daly.
However, she is still over 3,000 points away from Aryna Sabalenka at No. 1. The Belarusian does not have many points to defend during the next two months until the clay court season starts in April, making catching her even more challenging.
In an interview with DAZN before the 2025 Qatar Open, Gauff said she is not thinking about reaching No. 1. While admitting it is a long-term goal, the American prefers to devote her energy to improving, which will lead to the ranking taking care of itself.
"I think just improving and seeing where it goes. For me, the points thing is just, first of all, too mathematical. I don’t know how people come up with all these different scenarios. Like it’s pretty impressive."
"I think I just focus on trying to win and the ranking comes with that, just trying do my best to win. Obviously. the goal would be to be No. 1, that would be awesome, but it's not something i'm checking every week to see how far I am from it."
Gauff's words are similar to those of World No. 2 Iga Swiatek when she was asked about the topic. Despite being closer to the summit than Gauff, the four-time French Open champion also wants to focus on her game and improving with coach Wim Fissette.
It seems inevitable that Gauff will eventually reach No. 1. Her breaking through at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships makes it easy for some fans to forget how young she is at 20 and how much time she has to improve further.
Gauff would be a popular No. 1 with fans worldwide if and when she gets there. The 2023 US Open champion is among the most charismatic players in the sport and entertains fans on and off the court.
An example was Gauff's hilarious interview after one of her matches at the 2025 Australian Open. The WTA Finals winner mentioned she had explained on Instagram how to pee in her outfit, which was a bodysuit, before quickly confirming she did not do a physical demonstration.
Gauff is also known for her passion for social justice off the court. A recent example was her donation of $100,000 to historically black universities and colleges to help students who want to take playing tennis seriously.
The different personalities at the top of women's tennis tennis make the WTA Tour more interesting. Sabalenka is an extroverted and outgoing personality, Swiatek is more of an introvert, while Gauff is a combination of humorous and articulate about issues she cares about.
Various styles on and off the court are good for the sport, and the WTA Tour undoubtedly has that right now.
