‘I’ve beaten them’ – Coco Gauff on gender gap in tennis after ‘satisfying’ male practise sessions
Coco Gauff believes there is one thing in tennis people overestimate. The American is currently chasing a second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open but had time to open up on a viral debate within tennis. Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz are regular mixed doubles partners Gauff stormed past Sofia Kenin in the first round with the World No.3 overcoming her fellow American 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 20 minutes and will face Britain’s Jodie Burridge on Wednesday. The 20-year-old has made it 11 first round wins in her last 12 Grand Slams and is enjoying a great start to 2025. Gauff entered the Australian Open following victory at the United Cup, where her and Team USA secured the trophy in Sydney following wins over China, Czechia and Poland. The former US Open champion secured an all-important victory over Iga Swiatek making it a back-to-back wins over the World No.2, serving as a big confidence boost as the pair headed for Melbourne as major contenders and could face-off in a mouthwatering final. The United Cup also gave the players the opportunity to play mixed doubles with stars like Gauff and Fritz teaming up to take on the likes of Swiatek/Jan Zielinksy and Felix Auger-Aliassime/Leylah Fernandez. Mixed doubles often sees rallies between the male and female player with Swiatek going viral after edging out Casper Ruud in a thrilling rally in the competiton. Gauff was asked about the competition after her first round win over Kenin and touched on the satisfaction of beat her male contemporaries. “Yeah, it was super fun,” she said after the match. “Playing the mixed, it was super fun. It was fun and satisfying. For me the most satisfying honestly was when I was playing Felix, and he was rocketing forehands at me, and I was volleying them back. I don’t know, I just felt good.” Gauff went on to open up about the gap between men’s and women’s tennis, claiming that the level between the two genders is not as big as people online think it is. Gauff and Fritz led Team USA to the United Cup earlier this year “People think online that it’s this big of a gap. I mean, it is obviously, but I have played baseline points with guys. Sometimes I win,” Gauff added. “Sometimes I played against Frances and won. Same against Chris [Eubanks]. I practised with Taylor a couple of times at United Cup, and he was, like, oh, that was one of the best hits I’ve had. “All the guys were just trying to hit as hard as they could to the girl, but honestly I think some of us were volleying better than the guys. I for sure was volleying better than Taylor, but he definitely was serving better than me.” Gauff went on to enjoy a stellar tournament, not only helping to win the United Cup but also winning the MVP of the competition. Now the American is in the thick of it at the Australian Open, where she hopes to go further than 2024 and win the competition. The 20-year-old reached the semi-finals last year, falling to eventual winner Aryna Sabalenka. The pair are projected to meet each other again at the same stage.
Coco Gauff believes there is one thing in tennis people overestimate.
The American is currently chasing a second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open but had time to open up on a viral debate within tennis.
Gauff stormed past Sofia Kenin in the first round with the World No.3 overcoming her fellow American 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 20 minutes and will face Britain’s Jodie Burridge on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old has made it 11 first round wins in her last 12 Grand Slams and is enjoying a great start to 2025.
Gauff entered the Australian Open following victory at the United Cup, where her and Team USA secured the trophy in Sydney following wins over China, Czechia and Poland.
The former US Open champion secured an all-important victory over Iga Swiatek making it a back-to-back wins over the World No.2, serving as a big confidence boost as the pair headed for Melbourne as major contenders and could face-off in a mouthwatering final.
The United Cup also gave the players the opportunity to play mixed doubles with stars like Gauff and Fritz teaming up to take on the likes of Swiatek/Jan Zielinksy and Felix Auger-Aliassime/Leylah Fernandez.
Mixed doubles often sees rallies between the male and female player with Swiatek going viral after edging out Casper Ruud in a thrilling rally in the competiton.
Gauff was asked about the competition after her first round win over Kenin and touched on the satisfaction of beat her male contemporaries.
“Yeah, it was super fun,” she said after the match.
“Playing the mixed, it was super fun. It was fun and satisfying. For me the most satisfying honestly was when I was playing Felix, and he was rocketing forehands at me, and I was volleying them back. I don’t know, I just felt good.”
Gauff went on to open up about the gap between men’s and women’s tennis, claiming that the level between the two genders is not as big as people online think it is.
“People think online that it’s this big of a gap. I mean, it is obviously, but I have played baseline points with guys. Sometimes I win,” Gauff added.
“Sometimes I played against Frances and won. Same against Chris [Eubanks]. I practised with Taylor a couple of times at United Cup, and he was, like, oh, that was one of the best hits I’ve had.
“All the guys were just trying to hit as hard as they could to the girl, but honestly I think some of us were volleying better than the guys. I for sure was volleying better than Taylor, but he definitely was serving better than me.”
Gauff went on to enjoy a stellar tournament, not only helping to win the United Cup but also winning the MVP of the competition.
Now the American is in the thick of it at the Australian Open, where she hopes to go further than 2024 and win the competition.
The 20-year-old reached the semi-finals last year, falling to eventual winner Aryna Sabalenka. The pair are projected to meet each other again at the same stage.
