With Slams complete, Gauff views Beijing as chance to build momentum for 2027

BEIJING -- In three appearances at the China Open, Coco Gauff has either won the tournament or reached the semifinals. 

Her 2024 title in Beijing is sandwiched in between two final four finishes as the tournament has become one of Gauff's most consistent stops on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. 

She doesn't have the exact reason to her success, nor does she have any expectations for herself of this event.

"Honestly, I have no expectations this week," Gauff said to press during her pre-tournament press conference on Monday. "I don't know why I always do well here, but I always enter this tournament with zero expectations. Maybe that's why I've been doing well here."

With the Grand Slams behind her, Gauff said she treats this upcoming stint in China as a "practice month." She said there's no added pressure anymore, and her matches and training sessions in the coming weeks will focus on what to implement and improve upon ahead of the 2027 season.

1 -	Elena Rybakina KAZ Qualified Q	7,492
2 -	Aryna Sabalenka BLR	6,485
3 -	Jessica Pegula USA	5,825
4 1	Mirra Andreeva RUS	5,722
5 -1	Coco Gauff USA	5,654
6 -	Elina Svitolina UKR	4,809
7 -	Karolina Muchova CZE	4,400
8 -	Linda Noskova CZE	4,234

View Race Rankings

1 -	Taylor Townsend Qualified Katerina Siniakova Qualified	8,370
2 -	Gabriela Dabrowski Qualified Luisa Stefani Qualified	6,743
3 -	Aleksandra Krunic Qualified Anna Danilina Qualified	5,638
4 -	Kristina Mladenovic Hanyu Guo	3,566
5 -	Demi Schuurs Ellen Perez	3,035
6 -	Shuai Zhang Elise Mertens	3,018
7 -	Nicole Melichar-Martinez Cristina Bucsa	2,917
8 -	Su-Wei Hsieh Jelena Ostapenko	2,898

View Race Rankings

"I feel like a lot of the pressure is off," Gauff said. "I think that's also part of the reason why maybe I do do well at this part of the season, just because I feel a little bit more relaxed. The main thing is the slams being over, it's a lot less chaos now."

At a glance, Gauff wants to focus on her aggression and capitalizing on first serves, and she knows she's solid when the first serve lands.

Through 59 matches played this season, Gauff has landed 62.5% of her first serves, and won 68.4% of those points. Of her 663 service games played, she's won 468 of them (70.6%).

Those numbers are similar to her statistics in 2025, but wants to hone in on them more in the build up to 2027. 

"Yeah, I think just going for my shots a little bit more, trying to be a bit more aggressive. I think also higher first-serve percentage. I win a lot of first-serve percentage points, so I'm just trying to increase that number for making more first serves in.

"Those are the main things, without giving away too much [smiling]."

Though the 2026 season is in its final stretch, Gauff still has much to play for across Beijing and Wuhan, the latter of which she's the defending champion. The American is also in a solid position to qualify for the WTA Finals at Indian Wells, where she currently sits at No. 5 in the race.

In Beijing, Gauff is the No. 3 seed as a result of Jessica Pegula's withdrawal and awaits the winner of Camila Osorio and Lanlana Tararudee in the second round.