Coco Gauff Heads Into Australian Open With Plenty Of Confidence After Swiatek Win
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Coco Gauff will probably be the most confident player on the tennis courts at the 2025 Australian Open after her incredibly successful United Cup performance.
The 20-year-old American had a great ending to the 2024 season. She won the WTA Finals, playing some inspired tennis. With the off-season in between, Gauff was able to follow up on the great season end with an even better season start.
She chose not to play at the ASB Classic in Auckland, which is a WTA 250 tournament that she won in 2023 and 2024. Gauff wanted to get more competitive matches under her belt, facing a high-ranked opposition, and she knew she could do that at the United Cup.
Already her first opponent was Leylah Fernandez, who she beat in straight sets, and after that, Gauff beat all of her opponents without losing a set, including Iga Swiatek in the final of the tournament.
It was an incredibly successful tournament for Gauff, whose five wins count for 500 ranking points, as the United Cup is technically a WTA 500 tournament.
That means she started the 2025 season with a WTA 500 triumph, the same way Aryna Sabalenka did after winning the Brisbane International. However, Gauff played much better players, which significantly improved her confidence ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season.
Speaking after Team USA's final win over Poland, Gauff admitted that going into a major, she always believes she can win, but this time, the United Cup fave her even more confidence.
"Yeah, I mean, honestly, before every Grand Slam, I have the belief that I can win, and especially after the US Open, I proved that I could do it. I definitely have the belief that I can win."
"Obviously, this start of the season gives me a lot of confidence. I feel like when I'm playing confident tennis, I'm playing great tennis. I definitely feel confident going into AO."
In particular, Gauff's win over Swiatek motivated the young American player, who once again saw that she was able to beat the best of the best. Swiatek beat her in 11 of their previous 13 meetings, but currently, it's Gauff who's on a two-match winning streak against the Pole.
"Yeah, I definitely think this is one of my best tennis performance, especially in today's match, was a high-level match. I think both of us were playing well."
"I think honestly when I had that confidence in that final, where I actually felt really bad in that final, it just gives me confidence because I know when I'm playing good, if I can win when I'm not playing well, that when I'm playing good I should win."
"I think for me, I just let loose, let the pressure go, realize the worst thing that can happen is you lose a match and you go back to work and try to get better for next time."
