Coco Gauff’s time in the Middle East has come to an end and she has now travelled to California for the third WTA 1000 event of the year.
Gauff, the world number four, suffered a shock defeat to start the ‘Golden Swing’, losing her opening match at the Qatar Open to Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
However, she bounced back quickly, defeating Anna Kalinskaya and Alexandra Eala on her way to the semi-finals in Dubai.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of 2026?
Gauff is now in Indian Wells, hoping to register a strong performance at the event ahead of the Miami Open and clay-court swing.
Following her mixed results in the Middle East, Gauff has suggested that she will skip one of the tournaments in the future.
Coco Gauff says she will ‘probably skip’ the Qatar Open in the future
Coco Gauff failed to impress at the Qatar Open, despite an improved serving performance during her loss to Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
In fact, Gauff has struggled to perform well at the Qatar Open throughout her career.
Since reaching the quarter-finals in her debut at the event in 2022, Gauff has exited the tournament in the second round for three consecutive years.
Gauff acknowledged these struggles ahead of this year’s Indian Wells, noting that she may decide to skip the Qatar Open – a WTA 1000 event – in future.
“I mean, maybe in the future I’ll probably skip Doha,” Gauff told reporters in California. “I love Doha, but I consistently have not played well there.
“Yeah, I think the season is so packed, and I think having a Grand Slam and then one week later two back-to-back 1000s, I mean, I know some people live in Dubai, but especially for American players, it’s a long trek.
“I don’t regret it, because it already happened. I have done it before and I have had success later in the season.
Coco Gauff’s career record in Qatar…
| Year | Round Reached | Opponent Gauff lost to |
| 2022 | Quarter-finals | Maria Sakkari |
| 2024 | Second Round [first match] | Katerina Siniakova |
| 2025 | Second Round [first match] | Marta Kostyuk |
| 2026 | Second Round [first match] | Elisabetta Cocciaretto |
“Yeah, something I would consider, for sure, in the future. Yeah, I think this past tournament in Dubai, I just, I think it was a coincidence, just bad luck for the tournament with all the injuries and player withdrawals and things like that.
“I definitely think that goes to show that the schedule maybe is a bit packed in that part of the season. I don’t think guys have — I think this is the first 1000 of the year. So I definitely think it’s something that the tour should consider.”
How many WTA ranking points could Coco Gauff attain in Indian Wells?
Last year, Gauff reached the Indian Wells round of 16 after beating Moyuka Uchijima and Maria Sakkari.
In the last 16, the American was defeated by Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
As a result, Gauff earned 120 WTA ranking points; meaning this year, she could gain up to 780 ranking points.
How long will it take for Coco Gauff to complete the career Grand Slam?
If Gauff were to win this year’s event, she could overtake Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek in the WTA rankings.
Gauff has received a bye at this year’s event and will face Bianca Andreescu or Kamila Rakhimova in the second round.
She could then face Alexandra Eala in the third round before potentially facing off against Linda Noskova in the round of 16.
