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Coco Gauff criticises slow balls despite easy win at the China Open third round

Originally posted on HITC | By Callum Davies | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 7:33 AM ET

Coco Gauff advanced to the third round of the China Open but wasn’t thrilled about the conditions in Beijing.

The world number three moved past Kamilla Rakhimova in straight sets, dropping just four games in a routine win at a tournament she won last year.

Before her first match, Gauff said she was treating the event more like a practice run, which gave her some freedom to play.

Even though it was a comfortable victory, she spoke afterwards about some of the challenges posed by the playing conditions.

‘Really slow’ China Open balls come under fire from Gauff

Gauff has now won seven straight matches at the China Open, but she’s not happy with the conditions. She said there was an element of luck in her first round win over Kamilla Rakhimova.

Asked how she came through the longer rallies, Gauff said: “A little bit of luck I think. One of those games she hit like a let cord. That kind of helped me.

“And then just being solid. We were playing a physical match. I felt like she was getting a lot of balls back. Balls that I thought would be winners, I had to keep hitting it over and over.”

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The World No 3 turned her attention toward the balls and court pace and suggested that there was something slowing her down.

She added: “The conditions, today was a little bit faster, but the balls are really slow, especially when they get heavier towards the next ball change.

“It’s really slow. I was just trying to stay solid and make her run.”

Coco Gauff will face Leylah Fernandez in the third round of the China Open – a re-match of their Australian Open 2025 clash which saw the American win in straight sets.

Gauff has a favourable path at the China Open

While Coco Gauff may not be thrilled with how the courts are playing at this year’s China Open, she’s got a good chance to make a deep run given how the draw has unfolded.

The World No. 3 finds herself in section eight of the bracket, and Belinda Bencic, seeded 15th, is the highest-ranked player she could face before the quarter-finals.

Jelena Ostapenko is also in her section, along with qualifiers Priscilla Hon and Katie Volynets.

If Gauff does reach the last eight, she could be up against either Elena Rybakina or Ekaterina Alexandrova. The conditions might not be ideal for Gauff, but she’s still in a strong position to take advantage of a soft draw.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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