In the sprawling desert crucible of Indian Wells, where the world’s tennis titans clash under a relentless sun, Coco Gauff faced a bitter reckoning on March 13, 2025. The 21-year-old American phenom, ranked No. 3 globally, had arrived at the BNP Paribas Open with the weight of expectation pressing down on her shoulders—a chance to cement her status as one of the sport’s brightest stars on a stage she’d once conquered. But in a fourth-round showdown that twisted and turned like a desert mirage, Gauff fell to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in a gripping three-set battle, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The loss marked an abrupt end to her campaign, her earliest exit here since 2021, and with it came a candid confession that peeled back the layers of her ambition. “Honestly, it never meant anything to me,” she said of being America’s No. 1 player, a title she holds over peers like Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys. For Gauff, the real prize isn’t national bragging rights—it’s the world’s top spot, and her Indian Wells stumble was a stark reminder of the gap she’s still chasing.
The match itself was a tale of momentum swings, a rollercoaster that tested Gauff’s resilience and laid bare her vulnerabilities. She stormed out of the gate, snatching the first set 6-3 with the kind of poise that’s made her a Grand Slam champion—she won the US Open in 2023, a triumph that still echoes in her every step. Bencic, a former Olympic gold medalist fresh off a WTA 500 title in Abu Dhabi, seemed hobbled early, a trainer tending to a blistered foot as Gauff practiced serves with icy calm. “I felt in control,” she’d later reflect, a nod to the dominance she wielded in those opening games. But the tide turned in the second set—Bencic, revitalized, unleashed a barrage of backhands, her signature shot diving deep into the court and neutralizing Gauff’s cross-court prowess. The American faltered, her forehand wavering, and Bencic seized the set 6-3, leveling the score.
The third set was a war of attrition, a duel that pushed both players to their limits. Gauff’s power clashed with Bencic’s relentless depth, each rally a test of will. At 4-4, the match teetered on a knife’s edge—Gauff, serving with a 40-0 lead, stood three points from victory. But then, the wheels came off. A forehand error, a hammered return from Bencic, a feeble drop shot attempt—she lost five straight points, handing the Swiss star the break. “Especially in that last game, up 40-0, I probably could have gone bigger in those moments,” Gauff admitted, her voice tinged with the frustration of a perfectionist who’d let a golden chance slip. Bencic held serve in the next game, sealing the upset and sending Gauff packing. “I still think I could have served better,” she added, pinpointing inconsistency as the dagger that pierced her hopes.
That honesty—raw, unfiltered—sums up Gauff in a way stats and trophies never could. She’s not content with being America’s best, a mantle she’s held since eclipsing her compatriots in the rankings. “All the people say it online,” she said of the title, her tone dismissive. “And for me, it really means absolutely nothing. I don’t like to look at it. I don’t care.” It’s a striking admission from a player who’s carried the nation’s hopes since bursting onto the scene at 15, toppling Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019 with a fearlessness that belied her age. For Gauff, the goal isn’t a domestic crown—it’s global supremacy, the No. 1 ranking that Sabalenka currently clutches. “The reason it means nothing is because of the goal, obviously, is to be number one, period,” she explained, her focus laser-sharp despite the desert dust still settling on her defeat.
This Indian Wells failure—her fourth-round exit after a 9-3 start to 2025—caps a rocky stretch that’s tested her mettle. She’d stumbled in Doha and Dubai, losing early, and bowed out in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Yet, even amid the setbacks, Gauff’s perspective remains grounded. “Overall I feel like, I mean, it’s not as bad as it seems,” she said, dissecting her loss to Bencic with a clarity that defies her youth. “I lost 6-4 in the third in the fourth round against a tough opponent who’s coming off a 500 win. Obviously I wanted to do better, want to have better results, but it’s not something I can crush myself on.” It’s a maturity forged through years in the spotlight, a resilience that’s seen her rebound from lows to lift the US Open trophy and grace Vogue’s cover—a feat she accomplished late last year, a nod to her off-court star power.
The match against Bencic wasn’t a collapse—it was a fight, a reminder of how close Gauff is to her peak, even on an off day. She’d started the tournament shaky, racking up 21 double faults in a three-set grind against Moyuka Uchijima, but rallied to oust Maria Sakkari in the third round, 7-6(1), 6-2—a revenge win after last year’s semifinal loss to the Greek. “A win’s a win, but I know my level,” she’d said then, her self-awareness a constant companion. Against Bencic, her serve steadied—only six double faults this time—but her forehand betrayed her, a shot she’s still refining under new coach Matt Daly. “She hits the ball so low and flat, so it’s tough to hit how I would like,” Gauff noted of Bencic’s style, pinpointing the backhand corner as a battleground she lost. “I think that’s the corner I should be dictating.”
That introspection fuels her fire. Gauff’s not wallowing—she’s plotting. Indian Wells was a chance to add to her nine career titles, to close the gap on Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, who fell to Andreeva in the semifinals here. Instead, it’s a detour, a stumble that drops her 2025 record to 9-4 and shifts her focus to Miami, the next stop on the hard-court swing. “I’m trying to do better, and that’s all I can do,” she said, her resolve unshaken. “I’m trying to work on things in practice, and unfortunately right now it’s not translating how I’d like to.” It’s a long season, she knows—tennis’s brutal calendar doesn’t forgive, but it also offers redemption. “Sometimes in sports you want to just stay on the high and kind of ride that wave,” she reflected, “but especially with this sport, a season as long as tennis, it’s kind of impossible to always be on that high wave, and there’s going to be some low moments.”
For Gauff, those lows are fuel, not failure. She’s surrounded by fierce competition—Pegula, Keys, Navarro—all pushing her, yet she shrugs off the national pecking order. “I am lucky to be surrounded by such great competition for my country,” she conceded, a rare nod to her peers. But her eyes are fixed higher, on a summit that’s eluded her since she briefly held No. 2 last year. Bencic, a mother who’s defied odds to reclaim her form post-childbirth, was a mirror of what Gauff aspires to—consistency, grit, the ability to seize a moment. “I felt like she was more tense and that was the right time to go for the forehand,” Bencic said of the decisive third-set shift, a lesson Gauff will carry forward.
As the desert dust settles, Gauff turns 21—a milestone she celebrated the day after her loss, surrounded by family and a rumored boyfriend’s well-wishes. Indian Wells may have slipped away, but her honest admission lays bare a truth: she’s not here to be America’s darling—she’s here to rule the world. The rankings, the titles, the waves of highs and lows—they’re all steps on a path she’s still carving, one fearless swing at a time.
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