Gauff Looking to Turn Up the Heat with the Pressure Off

The second Coco Gauff steps off the plane in Beijing, the weight of being the global face of American tennis seems to fade away.

Gauff burst onto the global stage in 2023, when at 19 years old, she captured the U.S. Open championship. She added a Roland Garros title in 2025 and has finished at No.3 in the season-ending rankings the last three years.

She is back at the China Open with “no expectations,” making her first tournament appearance following the US Open earlier this month where she reached the semifinals. She finished the Grand Slam season with two semifinal appearances, including Wimbledon, made the quarters at the Australian Open and the third-round at Roland Garros.

In Beijing, Gauff arrives with something she rarely gets at home — considerably less expectations.

“I think now that the Slams are over, I feel like a lot of the pressure is off,” Gauff said in a pre-event media conference. “I just try to treat this more as a practice month for next year.”

Gauff, who has reached the semis or better the last three years at the China Open, will be looking to emulate her run from 2024 when she won the championship by defeating Karolina Muchova in the final.

“I don’t know why I always do well here,” Gauff said with a huge smile, “but I always enter this tournament with zero expectations. Maybe that’s why I’ve been doing so well here.”

It’s not just her impressive performances in Beijing that keeps Gauff coming back to the China Open. She is also interested in Chinese culture and history.

“I think it's really cool to experience things like going to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, feeling the history there,” Gauff said. “I'm someone who enjoys learning about that.”

She said the fans bolster her experience, showering her with gifts and love during her stay. Gauff joked that she packed an extra suitcase to carry all of her presents home after the tournament.

“It keeps me wanting to come back here and perform in front of the fans,” Gauff said.

Seeded three, Gauff has a first-round bye and will open her tournament against either Colombia’s Camila Osorio or Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee in the second round.

But, as in past years at the China Open, the field is packed with potential roadblocks, including each of this year’s Grand Slam champions — Elena Rybakina (Australian Open and U.S. Open), Mirra Andreeva (French Open) and Linda Noskova (Wimbledon).

Gauff and Rybakina are in the same half of the women’s draw and are seeded to meet in the semifinals. If that were to occur, it would be the third time in the last six weeks with Rybakina prevailing in the semis in Toronto and the U.S. Open.

“Hopefully, I cannot lose to her in some more semis, because it's been two back-to-back ones,” Gauff said, smiling. “Maybe next time it will land on my side.”

By Maggie Bane and Isabel Kirkwood