Coco Gauff is preparing to take part in the Qatar Open after an underwhelming Australian Open campaign.
Gauff reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne before producing an utterly abysmal performance against Elina Svitolina, losing the contest 6-1, 6-2.
The American will hope to bounce back from this loss on Tuesday when she plays Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Qatar Open first round.
Ahead of her first-round contest, Gauff spoke to reporters in Doha about her desire to adjust an area of her game.
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Coco Gauff says she wants to be more aggressive in her play at the Qatar Open
Speaking to reporters in the Qatar Open press room, Gauff reflected on her contest against Svitolina in Melbourne, claiming that she had let the Ukrainian take control of the match too easily.
She said: “Yeah, I think I want to try to be a bit more aggressive. I think in my last match I was too passive, and I let Elina kind of take over.
“I want to be more aggressive here. I thought I did well in my previous matches at the Australian Open, but I think I lost it in that match. So I think just wanting to capitalize on that.
“The goal is, obviously I would love to win, but the goal isn’t results right now. I think it’s just more about trying to play in the way I want to play for the next Grand Slam.”
If Gauff defeats Cocciaretto on Thursday, she will play Magdalena Frech or Ann Li in the third round.
If the American advances further, she could play Canadian star Victoria Mboko or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarter-finals
She could then face Elena Rybakina or 41-year-old Vera Zvonareva, who made tennis history on Sunday.
Gauff is looking to win her first Qatar Open title, and she will hope to better her disappointing 2025 Qatar Open performance when she competes at this week’s event.
- Round Two: Elisabetta Cocciaretto
- Quarter-finals: Victoria Mboko / Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Semi-finals: Elena Rybakina / Vera Zvonareva
- Final: Iga Swiatek / Amanda Anisimova
Coco Gauff’s 2025 Qatar Open campaign
Gauff has the opportunity to dramatically improve her ranking points total in Qatar after her opening-round exit at the 2025 event.
Gauff was stunned by Marta Kostyuk in the 2025 Qatar Open second round: 6-2, 7-5. As a result, she is only defending 10 points at this year’s tournament.
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Gauff is one of the favourites for the title alongside Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova.
However, if she replicates her Australian Open performance against Elina Svitolina against Elisabetta Cocciaretto on Monday, the American may be packing her bags sooner than expected.
