How Coco Gauff can become World No. 1 over Aryna Sabalenka & Iga Swiatek at US Open 2025

Coco Gauff heads into her women's singles campaign at the 2025 US Open as the World No. 3. The American's form since her Roland Garros title triumph in June has been erratic to say the least, and this has heavily contributed to her relinquishing the No. 2 spot in the WTA Tour's singles rankings to Iga Swiatek. Remarkably though, Gauff has a chance to ascend to World No. 1 for the first time in her singles career depending on her and her rivals' results at the US Open.

Gauff, whose maiden singles Major title came two years ago at the hardcourt Slam in Flushing Meadows, is currently outranked by Swiatek and reigning No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. However, if Gauff wins the US Open this year and Swiatek and Sabalenka both fall earlier than her at Flushing Meadows, the American will become the new top-ranked women's singles tennis player in the world.

It all boils down to the points Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have to respectively defend at the 2025 US Open. Among the three rivals, Gauff has the least to defend, as she exited the hardcourt Major in the fourth round last year. Swiatek registered a quarterfinal finish and as a result, has more points to defend at the tournament than Gauff this year. Sabalenka, the reigning champion, has the most number of points to defend.

For the math to align in Gauff's favor as far as her chances of becoming the new World No. 1 are concerned, Swiatek has to lose before the quarterfinals, while Sabalenka has to be defeated by Clara Tauson in their projected fourth-round meeting. However, if the Belarusian reaches the last eight, she will remain the top-ranked player.

As things stand in the WTA Tour's singles rankings, Sabalenka has 11,225 points, while Swiatek and Gauff have 7,933 and 7,874 points respectively. There is both palpable uncertainty and excitement surrounding Gauff's chances of success at the 2025 US Open because of a significant decision made by the 21-year-old in the buildup to the tournament.

Coco Gauff's 2025 summer woes led to American replacing coach with biomechanics expert days before beginning her US Open campaign

Coco Gauff serves during a practice (Source: Getty)

Starting from the European grasscourt swing this year, Coco Gauff's performances have been alarming. Most of her displays, even some of her wins, have been marred by a concerningly high number of unforced errors, including double faults stemming from seemingly hurried second serves.

In a desperate bid to correct her service motion and technique, Gauff pulled the curtains down on her collaboration with coach Matt Daly. She subsequently brought biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan into her setup and has been spotted working on her serves under his tutelage. MacMillan previously helped Aryna Sabalenka overcome a similar issue.

Coco Gauff's decision to rope in MacMillan has received the nod of approval from legendary coach Rick Macci. For a long time, Macci has been stressing on the need for Gauff to improve her serve from a biomechanics-oriented approach. Prominent tennis insider Gill Gross too, believes that the WTA No. 3's title hopes at the 2025 US Open have been boosted by MacMillan's appointment.