"Super happy" - Coco Gauff overwhelmed with emotions as she wins 1st match since heartbreaking US Open loss to Naomi Osaka at China Open

At the China Open, Coco Gauff was overwhelmed with emotions after registering her first win since her US Open loss to Naomi Osaka. The American WTA star is defending her title in Beijing and plans on visiting the Forbidden City for blessings.

On Friday, September 26, Gauff began her China Open title defense against Kamila Rakhimova. The second seed looked in decent form as she bagged the first set 6-4. The second set went by in a flash as Gauff decided she wanted to head back early, winning it 6-0.

The World No. 3's last win came in the third round of the US Open almost four weeks ago. She faced defeat at the hands of Osaka in the fourth round. Since then, this was her first match on the WTA Tour, and the American is looking fresh.

After the second-round match, she was asked how happy she was to be back at the event where she won her first title last year.

"Super happy to be back here. I have great memories here from last year. Hoping to make some more good memories here," Coco Gauff said.

Last year, Gauff visited the Forbidden City in Beijing with Carlos Alcaraz. She had informed the reporter earlier about her plans to visit again this year for blessings. When asked about that, she said:

"I just haven’t had time. But maybe tomorrow or something. I wanna go shopping so I think we’re gonna go to some of the malls here today."

Gauff is the second seed at the WTA 1000 event, with World No. 2 Iga Swiatek claiming the top seed in the absence of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

---

Coco Gauff set to treat the latter end of 2025 as preparation for 2026

Coco Gauff at the 2025 China Open - Source: Getty

Speaking about the Asian swing and the latter part of the 2025 season, Coco Gauff admitted she is treating it as preparation for the 2026 season.

"Yeah, I guess the focus is really just building for next year and treating this part of the swing kind of as a pre-season almost, which I did that last year," Coco Gauff said (via Tennis365).

However, last year, this part of the season became her most successful bit. She won the WTA 1000 event in China and also bagged the WTA Finals.

"Ended up being successful, so we’ll see. Yeah, I think at this point of the year it’s always just looking at how to get better for next year," she added.

She even claimed that the China Open "feels like a practice tournament." After earning a bye in the first round and defeating Kamila Rakhimova in the second, Gauff has set up an exciting third-round clash against 25th seed Leylah Fernandez.