Coco Gauff is in Doha for the WTA 1000 Qatar Open, which began on Monday, February 8. With most of the top seeds competing, it is the first showdown between the top names since the Australian Open. Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, and Belinda Bencic are the only top-10 players to withdraw from the tournament, as they are set to play in the Dubai Open, beginning on February 15.
Ahead of the Qatar Open, the WTA players were asked an interesting question by the media. They were asked which active WTA player they would love to watch at the Winter Games and in which discipline. They were also asked who they were taking inspiration from among the current athletes at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
“I mean, Iga [Swiatek] slides a lot on the court, so I feel like she could do good at, like, I don’t know if it correlates, but figure skating or something like that. For some reason, I see Ons [Jabeur] as, like, the person sweeping. Is it curling? Just because she has good touch, so maybe she can, like, kind of read the amount of sweeps she has to do to make it in the right spot,” Gauff said.
Next, Gauff named American figure skating sensation Alysa Liu as the athlete she was most impressed by. Praising her comeback story and applauding her fashion sense, including her hairstyle, Gauff said:
“Alyssa Liu, the figure skater. I love her hair and, like, her whole comeback story.”
Coco Gauff Admits Not Being Able to Bring Her Best Levels on Court After Qatar Open Shocker
Gauff, who was aiming to redeem herself in Doha after a quarterfinal exit in Melbourne, suffered more heartbreak, as she was knocked out of the WTA 1000 event by Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the second round on Tuesday. The Italian ripped through, beating her 6-4, 6-2.
After the defeat, Gauff addressed the media and admitted that she was unable to translate the skill set from her training sessions to on-court action, further saying that she had failed to bring her best level to court in the past few matches.
“I just feel like I haven’t showed up with my best level the last few matches. I’m just looking to find that again. I just feel like some of the things I’ve been working on in practice aren’t translating to the match court, which is super frustrating. I’ve been having good practices, but just not playing well in the matches. I just need to find how it can translate,” Gauff said.
“I tried to be more aggressive and was hitting more unforced errors. When I tried to be a little more passive and play with more shape, she was taking the ball early and crushing the ball. I think I need to figure out how to play against players like her, who hit super flat and take everything early. I think the last two matches showed I’ve been struggling with that. That’s something I need to work on in practice,” she added.
Gauff, who rose to the fourth spot in the WTA rankings, holds the position by a thread and will aim to bounce back from her recent losses in the upcoming WTA 1000 event in Dubai, which starts next week.
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