Coco Gauff surprised with her claim during a recent interview when she said that being the US No. 1 player means nothing to her.
Gauff has reached the status of the US No. 1 player fairly early in her tennis career. On top of that, she didn’t do that only in singles but also in doubles. In fact, she was the World No. 1 player in doubles on the WTA Tour.
At the moment, the 21-year-old American is ranked third in the world in singles, and she’s one of the four American players in the Top 10. She’s the highest-ranked of them, which is why she’s the American No. 1.
Recently, Gauff spoke to rolandgarros.com, and she was asked about her status as the highest-ranked American. Surprisingly, the 2023 US Open champion said that it meant nothing to her. She explained that her goal is to be the World No. 1 player, not just the best from her country.
“Honestly, it never meant anything to me. I just feel like all the people say it online. And for me, it really means absolutely nothing. I don’t like to look at it. I don’t care. The reason it means nothing is because of the goal, obviously, is to be number one, period.”
At the same time, Gauff recognized all of the efforts of her compatriots. The American player has been booming in recent years, and especially players on the WTA Tour have enjoyed plenty of success recently.
The 21-year-old admitted that seeing all of her compatriots, such as Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova, succeed motivates her as well.
“But obviously, I am lucky to be surrounded by such great competition for my country. And all of us are friendly with each other and we root for each other. And I was just happy to see, Madison win and then seeing Amanda win – two people who I think rightfully and strongly deserve those titles.”
Gauff also spoke about Keys’ fantastic win at the 2025 Australian Open. The 30-year-old American waited for her first Grand Slam title for a very long time, and it’s not a surprise that all of her compatriots supported her.
“It was really great. I was rooting for her and she deserves that title so much. It’s definitely inspiring just because I’m in that process (of making changes), and the fact that she committed to it maybe what people consider later in her career.”
Gauff currently doesn’t have that close to the World No. 1 spot, even though she’s ranked only two spots away from it. Most recently, she lost in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open and will now start her preparations for the Miami Open.
