Coco Gauff didn’t enjoy the best Middle Eastern stretch, which is why she will enter the 2025 Indian Wells Open on a three-match losing streak.
Gauff started the 2025 season sensationally. She won five consecutive matches at the United Cup, which included a win over Iga Swiatek. She then reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, but since then, the young American hasn’t won a match.
She lost in her first match at the Qatar Open in Doha to Marta Kostyuk, and she also lost in her first match at the Dubai Championships to McCartney Kessler.
Those two losses mean that she will enter the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells on a three-match losing streak. Still, the 20-year-old American doesn’t seem to be too concerned by that.
Gauff was asked about her losing streak in her pre-tournament press conference. The 2023 US Open champion said that she’s heard the comments of people saying that she was “sinking,” but she didn’t take them too seriously.
She experienced losing streaks before, and she will likely experience some in the future. She knows it’s part of the sport, and she remains focused on working hard to have chances at winning trophies.
“Yeah, for me, I don’t know, everybody makes a bigger deal what it is, I lost two matches. I’ll lose more matches back to back, it’s going to happen. Everyone is, like, ‘Oh, she’s sinking.’ Okay, we’ve been through this. I’ll pick it back up.”
Gauff also admitted that her losses were likely related to the conditions in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. She feels like the conditions during the Middle Eastern stretch don’t really help her.
“To me, I guess it feels like a month, but it’s just two tournaments, and at this calendar, I have so many other opportunities, and I can’t win every match. Yeah, it is a tough part of the swing for me, just I think mainly because the conditions I don’t think are in my favor.”
“But at the end of the day, I was upset that I lost, but it’s a loss. It’s going to happen again. I’m going to lose back-to-back again. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen too many times in my career.”
Gauff will want to avoid losing her fourth consecutive match in Indian Wells. She can play against fellow US Open champion Emma Raducanu already in the second round, but even if she loses, it seems that it wouldn’t distract her too much.
“But it’s just one of those things that you just move on and get better. You know the results will come. It’s just normal, I think. I’m only 20 years old, going to be 21 next week. It would be kind of silly for me to think it won’t happen to me again if I’m going to be out here, hopefully at least 10 more years.”
