Coco Gauff to face an opponent younger than herself for the first time in her career at San Diego Open 

Coco Gauff is all set to play the San Diego Open, the first time she will be seen in competitive tennis action since losing in the quarterfinals of the 2022 US Open. The San Diego Open is a WTA 500 tournament that is scheduled to be played from October 10-16.

The 18-year-old will kick off her campaign on Tuesday night against compatriot Robin Montgomery, who won both the singles and doubles junior titles at the 2021 US Open.

Montgomery is around six months younger than Gauff. This will be the first instance on the tour where Gauff takes on an opponent younger than herself.

Journalist Ben Rothenberg took to social media to point out the rarity, calling it a milestone moment.

"Milestone in the WTA 500 San Diego draw: the first time Coco Gauff faces an opponent younger than her. Gauff, now a ripe old 18 ½, faces 2021 US Open junior champ Robin Montgomery, a qualifier who just turned 18 last month," Rothenberg tweeted.

The winner of the match will go on to face Canada's Bianca Andreescu in the second round. Andreescu defeated Russia's Liudmila Samsonova in the first.

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Gauff could meet each other for the fourth time on tour in the third round. Swiatek leads the head-to-head 3-0, with the 2022 French Open final being the last time they squared off against each other.

Gauff has had a great season so far, winning 34 out of 51 matches to achieve a career-high ranking of No. 8. The inaugural edition of the San Diego Open will also feature players like Paula Badosa, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Caroline Garcia, and Daria Kasatkina.

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"It's a full-circle moment for me, I played here when I was 12 years old" - Coco Gauff at San Diego Open draw party

Coco Gauff in action during her doubles match at the San Diego Open

Coco Gauff was recently present at the San Diego Open draw party, where she expressed her excitement to play in San Diego. The youngster revealed that she first played at Barnes Tennis Center when she was 12 and then again when she was 14.

"I just want to say thank you guys for having me here and doing this event," Coco Gauff said. "I'm super excited to play here in San Diego. It's actually a full-circle moment for me. I played at the Barnes Tennis Center for the first time when I was 12 years old and I lost in the quarterfinals. Then I played again when I was 14 here and I lost in the semis. So I told my dad that hopefully, I can get to the final, maybe this time in the pro tournament."