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Coco Gauff 2025 Season Recap

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Jordan Reynolds | Last updated Nov 17, 2025 7:45 AM ET

Coco Gauff finished the 2024 season by winning her maiden WTA Finals title. Fans were curious to see whether the young star could achieve more success in 2025 despite stiff competition from her rivals. What followed was a roller coaster year that contained lows, but also arguably the best moment of her career.

Coco Gauff 2025 Season Recap

A Perfect Start was Followed by a Challenging Few Months

After starting 2023 and 2024 at the ASB Classic in Auckland, Gauff decided to begin 2025 with her United Cup debut. She could not have performed any better at the event. The 2023 US Open champion won six matches, four in singles and two in doubles with Taylor Fritz. That included beating Iga Swiatek in the final before Taylor Fritz overcame Hubert Hurkacz to secure the title for Team USA.

Her performance at the WTA Finals and United Cup raised expectations for the rest of 2025, but Gauff then had a tough period. She lost 5-7 4-6 in the Australian Open quarterfinal to an inspired Paula Badosa. That was followed by her failing to win a match in Doha or Dubai.

Gauff lost in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open to Belinda Bencic and Magda Linette. The 21-year-old’s second serve and forehand issues were very acute after the Australian Open. Her trademark grit and fighting spirit helped Gauff earn a few wins during that period. However, she needed a significant improvement to compete for the most significant titles.

Gauff had an Incredible Clay-court Swing.

Despite being an excellent clay-court player, Gauff had not won a title on the dirt above WTA 250 level or been to any finals on the surface since the 2022 French Open final. Iga Swiatek’s dominance at the Italian Open and French Open and Aryna Sabalenka’s in Madrid were the main reasons.

Gauff lost to Jasmine Paolini in the Boss Open quarterfinal in Stuttgart. After that, the American was utterly superb on clay, playing her best ever tennis on it. She reached her maiden Mutua Madrid Open final, a run that included dismantling Swiatek 6-1 6-1 in the semifinal. Sabalenka proved too strong in the final, securing her third title at the event with a 6-3 7-6 victory. Gauff backed that up by progressing to the Italian Open final, beating Emma Raducanu and Mirra Andreeva along the way. She fell to home favorite Jasmine Paolini in the final.

Rather than being deflated by those final losses, Gauff kept her level high at the French Open. The world No. 3 became a two-time finalist in Paris with triumphs against Olivia Gadecki, Tereza Valentova, Marie Bouzkova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Madison Keys, and Lois Boisson. That set up a rematch against Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff narrowly lost the opening set on a tiebreak in very windy conditions.

Her courage to fight back from that moment was outstanding. Gauff played a much smarter tactical match than Sabalenka on the blustery day, drawing her into several unforced errors. She ultimately prevailed 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to win her maiden title at Roland Garros and second Grand Slam. Considering Gauff grew up on hard courts, winning a clay-court Major might be her best career moment so far.

Gauff Made a Coaching Change After Struggles on Grass and Hard Courts

The high bounce and slower speed on clay (although the conditions in Madrid are faster than in Rome or at Roland-Garros) helped Gauff better manage her forehand and second-serve issues. Those problems swiftly returned during the grass court swing. The American No. 1 did not win a match at the Berlin Tennis Open or Wimbledon, falling to Xinyu Wang and Dayana Yastremska.

Gauff’s level improved slightly in North America, while remaining below her best. She lost to Victoria Mboko at the National Bank Open in Montreal and Jasmine Paolini at the Cincinnati Open. After hitting 16 double faults against Paolini and 23 against Danielle Collins in Montreal, Gauff split from her coach, Matt Daly a few days before the US Open. That was followed by hiring biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, who previously worked with Aryna Sabalenka on her serving issues. Gauff’s first tournament with him ended in a round-of-16 exit to Naomi Osaka at the US Open.

Gauff Finished Strongly and was More Confident With her Second Serve

Despite heavily losing to Amanda Anisimova in the China Open semifinal, Gauff spoke confidently about her serving progress with MacMillan. Those words were vindicated the following week. The former world No. 2 won the Wuhan Open without dropping a set. That run included wins against Jasmine Paolini and Jessica Pegula. Her second serve remains far from perfect, but progress has undoubtedly been made.

Gauff’s victory against Paolini at the WTA Finals was not enough to reach the semifinals. Pegula got her revenge for the Wuhan final in three sets before the eventual runner-up Sabalenka defeated her 6-7 2-6. The young star was two points from the opening set at 30-0 on her serve before the world No. 1 mounted a comeback.

Although a disappointing final tournament, winning the Wuhan Open title still made it a strong finish to 2025. Gauff’s memorable French Open triumph means 2025 was a better year than 2024. There are things to work on and many improvements to be made in the coming years. At 21, Gauff has much time to improve and is already enjoying a career to be proud of.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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