Coco Gauff returns to Beijing with room to breathe and work to do
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.
"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 her matches and training sessions in the coming weeks will focus on what to implement and improve upon ahead of the 2027 season.
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1
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8,370 | |
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2
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6,743 | |
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3
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5,638 | |
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4
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3,566 | |
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5
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3,035 | |
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3,018 | |
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7
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2,917 | |
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8
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2,898 |
"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."
Gauff’s focus is clear: Play more aggressively, make a higher percentage of first serves and trust the strength of her serve when it is working.
Across 59 matches this season, Gauff has put 62.5% of her first serves in play and won 68.4% of those points. She has held serve in 468 of 663 service games, a 70.6% rate.
Those figures are broadly in line with her 2025 numbers. As she looks ahead to 2027, though, Gauff wants to make those areas of her game an even greater priority.
"Yeah, I think just going for my shots a little bit more, trying to be a bit more aggressive," Gauff said. "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. She 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. She awaits the winner of Camila Osorio and Lanlana Tararudee in the second round.
