Coco Gauff To Win Australian Open And Become World No. 1, Legends Agree
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Coco Gauff is among the top favorites to win the 2025 Australian Open, and some WTA legends think she might do it and later become the World No. 1 player.
There is not a single doubt about who are the two players with the best form at the moment. Aryna Sabalenka won the 2024 US Open and started the 2025 season with a triumph at the Brisbane International, while Gauff won the 2024 WTA Finals and led her country to the United Cup win.
These two players will be seeded first and third, and they can meet already in the semi-finals of the tournament. Still, they are the two biggest favorites to win the title.
Especially Gauff's form has been talked about a lot since she bested Iga Swiatek, who she used to struggle against in the past. The Pole previously beat her in 11 of their first 12 meetings, but Gauff is now on a two-match winning streak against Swiatek.
Ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season, WTA legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert sat down for WTATennis.com, discussing the favorites for the upcoming major.
According to Evert, Gauff will become the World No. 1 player. She came to this conclusion after watching her play at the United Cup and beat Swiatek on the way to the title.
"I think Coco [Gauff] will end up No.1 -- did you see the last few tournaments she played? When I watched Iga play Coco, and Coco was winning the forehand rallies."
"In that matchup, whoever’s forehand is better, is going to win the match. She is No.3 right now. It’s not that far out. I think she’s going to get there."
Navratilova agreed with her final rival. According to her, Gauff will win a major title in 2025, with the Australian Open providing her with the best chance to do so.
"I think Coco will win a major. Australia might be her best chance. But she can win on any surface -- clay, grass, hard, it doesn’t matter."
They also talked about 17-year-old super talent Mirra Andreeva. According to Evert, the Russian teenager needs to "get bigger" and become more offensive.
"I liked her game from Day 1. She just needs to get bigger and get a bigger game, physically and play a bigger game. Can’t be running down balls defensively all the time. Needs to develop some power, which she will in time. A great competitor. She’s pretty relentless."
Pam Shriver, who was also part of the discussion, talked also about Emma Raducanu, who she thinks will reach at least a semi-final of a Grand Slam tournament in 2025.
"I liked some things I saw in the last couple months of the year. She really is quite the talent. Such an unusual thing happened [in 2021] and she and her team didn’t know how to navigate what came next. As it turned out, physically she couldn’t handle it."
"I think she’s learned a lot about scheduling better. I really think she’s going to make it to the semifinals of a major this year."
