Coco Gauff returned to title-winning ways as she went all the way at the China Open, but the American has revealed that she came close to skipping the WTA 1000 event.
Gauff endured a difficult post-Wimbledon run as she lost early at the 2024 Paris Olympics and then failed to defend her Cincinnati Open and US Open trophies.
Her defeat to Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the US Open forced her to pull the trigger as she made a change to her coaching set-up as Matt Daly joined Jean-Christophe Faurel on the team following Brad Gilbert’s departure.
Following the tweaks, the initial plan was for Gauff to enjoy an extended training block instead of playing at the China Open as only the Wuhan event was on the calendar.
But in the end, the team opted to play in Beijing and it was ultimately a good move as she won her second WTA 1000 title with victory over Karolina Muchova in the final.
“I kind of told my team I wanted to play Beijing. We were planning on just coming to Wuhan. I just felt like I needed to play, have fun. I enjoy Beijing,” the American admitted to WTA Insider.
Gauff added: “I think last year, I won US Open and I was like, the rest of the season, I want to do well, but whatever – just play and see what happens.
“And then this time it was like, well, I haven’t done so well. The tournaments that I really wanted to do well in, the Slams, that was over. So it was kind of, let’s just see what happens here.
“I always think that this part of the season will always just be more relaxed for me.”
The Daly-Faurel partnership has had immediate success with Gauff moving up two places to No 4 in the WTA Rankings, but the 20-year-old hopes it is the start of a long-term project as she knows she is still has a lot to learn.
“A lot of times people forget that I’m still in the developmental phase of my career and nothing is going to be great,” she said.
“Most of the people doing well are 25 and older in the top 10, maybe with the exception of Iga [Swiatek]. We have a long way to go and I still have a lot that I need to work on and I’m proud of myself thus far.
“I didn’t have a complete game at 15 and I don’t have one right now, but I’ve been on tour playing every week almost, trying to be better. I’m just super proud of that.”