Coco Gauff has not played doubles this season, and her absence is having a major impact on the WTA doubles rankings.
Not long ago, she was ranked the World No. 1 in doubles, together with her partner and compatriot Jessica Pegula. They became the first co-ranked team to reach the No. 1 spot since 2019 and the first all-American pair to do so in 11 years.
However, their stay was short-lived as they would relinquish that tag after just a week following Barbora Krejickova and Katerina Siniakova winning the San Diego doubles title last September. Since then, it has gone downhill for Gauff and Pegula as a team.
They lost in their first match at the China Open and failed to qualify out of the group at the WTA Finals for the second year in a row. Gauff and Pegula had been rumored to split ahead of 2024, but those reports did not hold enough water.
The two signed up to play in the Australian Open women's doubles tournament and were the top seeds. But they did not play after they withdrew, possibly because of Pegula's health issues, which have heavily impacted her recent absence on the WTA Tour.
Gauff and Pegula were crowned champions of the Qatar Open doubles tournament last year. In fact, they had won in Doha in each of the past two seasons. But Pegula couldn't play in the Middle East this year because of a neck injury.
Therefore, this week, they dropped down to ninth in the rankings. Meanwhile, Gauff is set to exit the Top 10 next week, dipping to 11th at the very least. Pegula could also follow suit depending on how other doubles players perform in Dubai this week.
Gauff had admitted that she is not playing doubles at the moment because Pegula is not healthy. The 19-year-old is keen to extend their parternship as a doubles pair, but has acknowledged that singles tournaments will take precedence. Pegula has previously hinted that they may split after the Olympics.
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