Since Coco Gauff’s title run in Cincinnati Open in August, she has not lost a match. Her 16-match win streak was the longest win streak of her career and the longest by an American teenager since Serena Williams also won 16 matches in 1999. But that was painfully brought to end by former world no. 1 Iga Swiatek at the China Open semifinals.
US Open Champion, Coco Gauff, who sustained an injury In the quarterfinals when she defeated Maria Sakkari, has admitted that the injury was not terrible and has decided to take a bit time off and will not participate in the Zhengzhou Open.
What is next for Coco Gauff after China Open defeat?
Coco Gauff has decided to take a break and prepare for the WTA finals in Cancum, Mexico, following her withdrawal from the Zhengzhou Open. Gauff’s 16-match winning streak came to an end at the hands of Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the China Open, with a score of 6-2, 6-3, and she had to deal with physical issues during the match.
In the quarterfinals, world No. 3 suffered an injury when she defeated Maria Sakkari, and the next day, against Swiatek, she had to request a medical timeout due to the pain. Nevertheless, Gauff admitted afterward that it was not a terrible injury and her team assured her that she would be fine with a little rest.
As a result, Gauff will not play in any more tournaments for the remainder of this season until the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico. She will prepare for the year-end event, which begins on October 30 alongside the season’s top players.
Zhengzhou Open also had to deal with the withdrawal of the second seed Elena Rybakina due to a lower back injury, and World No. 6 Karolina Muchova due to a wrist injury. Both players will reappear at the WTA Finals in Mexico. Nevertheless, Zhengzhou Open will feature three top-10 players, with the highest-ranked being Maria Sakkari (6th), joined by Ons Jabeur (7th) and Caroline Garcia (10th).
Coco Gauff explains her loss to Iga Swiatek in China Open
During the match between Swiatek and Gauff, Coco Gauff was evidently struggling with a shoulder issue and she required a medical time-out. After the match, Gauff was asked what was different this time compared to their Cincinnati match.
“I think she played a little bit more aggressive or, like, consistently aggressive compared to Cincinnati. I think Cincinnati I got a little bit more errors than today. Honestly, like, it’s tough for me to assess the match right now because my mind was just not 100% in it,” Coco Gauff said to tennisworldusa.
“I feel like I need to watch it and really know what’s going on. Usually I’m able to assess the matches right away, what I did right, what I did wrong. I think my focus, a lot of it, was just on what I was feeling, not more so what she was doing or what I was doing,” Gauff added.
Now, Coco Gauff’s focus turns to the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico from October 29 – November 05. Gauff will be making her second consecutive appearance at the tournament.
