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Coco Gauff is currently gearing up to compete at the China Open. The American will be entering the event as the defending champion, but she recently admitted that she was regarding the competition with more of a ‘practice tournament' approach.
Gauff has had a tumultuous 2025 season. The 21-year-old’s highlight of the year took place at the French Open, where she claimed her second Grand Slam title. However, she has struggled to match her own results since, making early exits at the Wimbledon Championships as well as the US Open.
Now, as she prepares to compete at the China Open, Coco Gauff admitted that she doesn't feel like the ‘defending champion’ of the tournament, saying in a press conference:
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“Although technically I’m the defending champion, it doesn’t feel like that at all. I don’t want to say ‘not care’ because obviously I’m not playing a tournament and trying to lose or anything. But yeah, there is definitely a weight that you kind of just don’t care in a way, especially when you’ve had like a good moment of the season. I think winning the French Open helped me take that weight off less.”
She went on to add that she was approaching the event with a lighter mindset in comparison to last year, explaining,
“I think last year I did care, but maybe I felt a little bit like I had to do something, because I hadn’t won a big title at that point, at that time of the year yet. I don’t know how I feel right now. I definitely feel a lot lighter. It feels, again, like a practice tournament. So we’ll see how it goes.”
At the China Open last year, Gauff outdid the likes of Naomi Osaka and Paula Badosa en route to the finals. In the summit clash, she beat Karolina Muchova to lift the trophy.
Coco Gauff to face difficult field at China Open
The 2025 China Open is the ninth WTA 1000 event of the year, and as such, it features some of the best players in the world. While World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka has opted out of the event, the draw still features some cutthroat competition. Outside of Coco Gauff, several WTA top 10 players will be in action in Beijing, including Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreva, Jasmine Paolini, Elena Rybakina, and Zheng Qinwen.
Gauff has been given a bye in her opening round at the China Open. For her second round match, the American will run into the winner of the clash between Lucia Bronzetti and Kamilla Rakhimova, with a potential face-off against Belinda Bencic awaiting her in the fourth round.
