Coco Gauff is one of the most promising young tennis players in the world right now, and she's looking to make moves in the WTA Rankings after the upcoming Sunshine Double.
With the 2023 BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells and the 2023 Miami Open just around the corner, Gauff is poised to make a real impact and climb to new heights in her career. Currently ranked 6th in the WTA Rankings, Gauff has already had a great start to the season, winning 11 out of 14 matches played and securing her first title since 2021.
But with the upcoming Sunshine Double, she has a chance to go even further. Last year, she wasn't particularly successful during the two WTA 1000 events as she lost in the third round in Indian Wells and in the fourth round in Miami. This year, she could improve that and move up in the rankings.
The key to Gauff's potential success lies in the fact that she doesn't have many points to defend from last year's tournaments. While she lost in the third round in Indian Wells and the fourth in Miami, she doesn't need to worry about losing a lot of points.
Meanwhile, her doubles partner and friend, Jessica Pegula, is set to drop a lot of points after reaching the semifinals in Miami last year, which will create more space for Gauff to move up in the rankings.
Looking at the numbers, it's clear that Gauff has a real shot at reaching a new career high in the WTA Rankings. If she can perform better than three players ahead of her, she could jump to 3rd place, while her career high is 4th from last season.
Behind her, Gauff has quite a lot of space to work with, as the closest competitor behind her would be Daria Kasatkina with 3410 points, and Gauff would have 4067 points after the 2023 Miami Open if none would be added. Ahead of her, Ons Jabeur would have 4791 points, Caroline Garcia would sit with 4920 points and Jessica Pegula with 5095 points.
Although Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are still too far ahead to catch up with during the Sunshine Double, Gauff can certainly make significant gains and get closer to the top.
In the 2023 WTA Race, the young American is ranked eighth with 970 points next to her name but a good showing on home soil could mean a significant jump for her also there.