'It was nice to actually have some time in between' - Gauff prioritised training over DC Open as she slams busy schedule

World number two Coco Gauff revealed why she did not feature in the Mubadala Citi DC Open, citing a busy schedule and a chance to train. She will be featuring in a competitive Masters 1000 event in Montreal this week, as she looks to get back to form.

After winning Roland Garros, the American has not kicked on, playing two games on grass after her second Grand Slam win and losing both. She failed to make any progress in the Berlin Tennis Open after losing to Wang Xinyu, before shockingly losing her first-round game in straight sets against Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska.

The two-time Grand Slam winner will face fellow American Danielle Collins, as she looks to get some wins under her belt ahead of a busy end to the year, which includes the final Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows, a title she won back in 2023.

Gauff chooses training block over Washington

A number of tennis players have called out the intense and hectic schedule, with many showing their frustrations over how many tournaments have been pencilled in and how little rest they get. Despite her last game being played almost one month ago, Gauff decided to skip the 500 event in Washington to have a training block, as she eyes bigger tournaments on the horizon.

At the pre-tournament conference, Gauff revealed why she missed out on the DC Open. "Yeah, it was nice to actually have some time in between," Gauff said. "That's why I didn't play D.C., because I wanted to just have a real training block, which I hadn't had in a while just because of how our schedule is."

Along with the 21-year-old reigning Wimbledon champion, Iga Swiatek skipped the trip to the American capital to get some rest and training ahead of these Masters 1000 events.

Another 1000 event swiftly follows the Canadian Open, as the players travel south to Cincinnati before they go to New York for the US Open. With these tournaments in mind, Gauff made the decision to prepare because of the lack of space on the tennis calendar.

'Being back in Montreal is great'

The Canadian Open is a unique tournament. It has two cities hosting it: Montreal and Toronto. Each year, they switch the locations for the ATP and WTA tournaments. Last year, the women played in Toronto, and this year they will play in Montreal.

It makes the tournament stand out not just for fans, but for players as well, who get to embrace a different city every other year they play at the event. This is especially true for Gauff, who states it is 'refreshing' and that she likes the change of scenery every year.

On the change of locations, Gauff said: "Being back in Montreal is great, and it's definitely refreshing. I like that they change it every other year just because it feels different each time. Yeah, I'm happy to be back here. I like this tournament a lot and would love to do great here one of these years,"

Gauff's history at the event has not been great, with her best result in four tournaments being a quarter-final in 2022 as an 18-year-old. Last year, she won her second-round game in straight sets against Wang Yafan before losing to Diana Shnaider in the third round in a frustrating result for the American.

She comes into this year's event as the top seed with number one in the world Aryna Sabalenka, missing this tournament through fatigue. Despite being the top seed, she may need to fight off the likes of Swiatek and two-time champion Jessica Pegula to claim her first Canadian Open win.