Coco Gauff ‘maybe the best tennis player in the world at the moment’, but former world No 1 has a warning
Coco Gauff has been backed to win at one or even two Grand Slams in 2025 by Mats Wilander, but he does fear she could come unstuck at the Australian Open if she comes up against one of the big hitters.
Following a disappointing 2024 North American hard-court swing that saw her drop to No 6 rankings after she failed to defend her US Open crown, Gauff finished the season on a high as she won the China Open and capped the year off with the WTA Finals trophy.
She was 13-2 for the last few months of 2024 and also defeated the top two in the rankings in Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek with her performances helping her to return to No 3.
And she has been equally impressive so far in 2025 as she was 7-0 at the United Cup, beating Swiatek in one of the five singles matches that she won without dropping a set as she steered the United States to the title.
Will Gauff carry that form into the Australian Open?
Last year she reached the semi-final at Melbourne Park before losing to eventual winner Aryna Sabalenka and there is no doubt that she has improved her game in the past few months after appointing Matt Daly as her coach.
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Former world No 1 Wilander rates Gauff as “maybe the best tennis player in the world at the moment”.
“There’s a lot of talk about Coco Gauff and her serve and her forehand, where is she going to go? Should she play aggressive tennis? Should she be scrappy and get the ball back and play?” he said on Eurosport.
“Obviously, there needs to be a combination of the two, but I think that we don’t understand the physical ability of Coco Gauff; she’s a tremendous athlete.
“One of the best female athletes in the world in any sport, and she’s obviously one of the best tennis players in the world, if not maybe the best at this moment.
“She’s going to have a great year. She’s going to win a Slam, I’m convinced, and she might even win two Slams. And she’s going to win 10 Grand Slams before she’s done.
“She’s too driven, too good. She has a couple of weaknesses that can be improved, her serve being one on certain days and her forehand on certain days. But it all depends on her opponents and the conditions.”
Gauff finds herself in the top half of the draw and could meet Jessica Pegula in the quarter-final and defending champion Sabalenka in the semi-final.
Wilander believes the likes of Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina – who is on the lower half of the draw – will trouble her.
The Swede added: “At the Australian Open, the courts are very quick and if she ends up playing against someone like Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina, huge hitters on the women’s tour then yeah, Coco Gauff could have some problems.
“But they better play at 100% of their ability. Everyone who doesn’t play at 100% of their ability aren’t going to beat Coco Gauff in any tournament on any day.”
