Coco Gauff signals possible return to Team USA after two-year absence
NewsFriday, 26 September 2025 at 16:53
Coco Gauff loves to represent her country, even though she hasn't competed at the Billie Jean King Cup for two years now.
The Billie Jean King Cup is in a challenging spot. For the past few years, many top players have been complaining about its spot in the calendar, but that was finally changed this year. The 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals were held at the start of the Asian swing in Shenzhen, China.
Italy won the competition, defeating the USA in the tournament's final. The American team was without its three highest-ranked singles players, as Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and Madison Keys all missed the tournament. Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro played the singles matches in the final tie, with both of them losing.
Gauff is one player who could really help her country, as she is a world No. 3 in singles and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is also a Grand Slam champion in both singles and doubles, so she could help Team USA in both disciplines.
However, she has missed the Billie Jean King Cup in the past two seasons. In fact, Gauff last played at the competition in 2023 when she helped her country beat Austria in the Qualifiers. She beat Julia Grabher in her singles match and teamed up with Caty McNally to outplay Sinja Kraus and Melanie Klaffner in doubles.
This year, Gauff missed the competition again. She returned to the tennis courts at the China Open in Beijing, where she won the title last year. This year, she started with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Kamilla Rakhimova, and after her victory, the 21-year-old American was asked about her country's loss in the Billie Jean King Cup final.
Gauff admitted that she didn't watch the final. However, she mentioned that she would like to return to the team competition in 2026 after missing it in the past two years.
"Yeah, I didn't get to watch. I think on the Final, I was traveling. I didn't get to watch that day. I mean, yes and no. Obviously I have a lot of faith in my team. I think they're going to do well. Obviously Team Italy is great. I think Jasmine [Paolini] and Elisabetta [Cocciaretto], I feel like they strive in those team environments when they play for their country."
"They're the defending champion, I think, or were the defending champion. I knew it would be tough. I thought that our team was strong. I felt like this year that they could have taken it. I'm hoping that we can do well and qualify again. I'll probably be playing next year."
Gauff doesn't feel the pressure at the China Open
Gauff is the defending champion at the WTA 1000 event in Beijing. She could feel plenty of pressure, but instead, she dismisses all of it. The two-time Grand Slam singles champion chooses a different approach to the tournaments in China.
"I think given where this lies on the schedule in the year, I've played tournaments as defending champion. This for some reason feels less pressure. I don't know if it's because the slams are over or maybe because I know I'm, like, basically qualified for Finals. I think that lot of that is kind of pressure off."
"Yeah, I think the mindset is a little bit different just because when you play well at a place, you have a lot of confidence. I remember entering Madrid, this was like the first year I actually had a decent result at Madrid, so it gave me some confidence. Here, knowing that you play well, when those tough moments happen, you feel the familiarity of the conditions from the years before that I did well."
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