On Sunday, World No.3 Coco Gauff was on fire after she powered Team USA to a second United Cup title victory over Poland. Before Taylor Fritz sealed the match, with a hard-fought win against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4) to provide a final 2-0 lead, it was the 20-year-old’s heroics against Iga Swiatek that set the stage for her country’s historic win. Defying her poor record against the Pole, the 2023 US Open winner showcased her confident side, while also sending a clear message to the rivals for the rest of the season!

Despite squandering a 2-0 lead in the opening set, Gauff rallied back against her opponent’s 19 unforced errors. In a closely contested second set, Gauff recovered from a break down to prevail and complete an undefeated singles campaign at the tournament. Remember, she also won her last meeting with the World No.2 when they played each other during the WTA Finals in 2024, in November? Now, she’s won two back-to-back matches against the Pole, improving her head-to-head to 3-11.

“I think just confidence. I think I have the belief that I’m one of the best players in the world and when I play good tennis, I’m hard to beat,” she said, when asked about how she was able to do it ‘slowly but surely’ in an official post-match interview.

This statement also implies her newfound positive attitude. And her opponents need to be wary of it. “Today I think I played some great tennis. I’m glad I was able to get a point for Team USA. It was tough today. I’m not gonna lie,” she added.

Ahead of the event’s commencement last December, the 2024 WTA Finals champion was asked about her decision to make her United Cup debut. Instead of the ASB Classic in Auckland, she chose to represent America. While she admitted that she “love Auckland. I won twice there – It was a great tournament”, she “wanted to play a higher level of competition and also a team competition. I had a lot of fun with the Paris Olympics. The season’s already so much by ourselves that it’s nice to mix it up,” as reported by Tennis Up To Date on December 27, 2024.

Additionally, Coco Gauff also mentioned that “the main focus is the Australian Open and doing well there.” Which means her next target, after helping Team USA clinch the 2025 United Cup trophy, is the first major of this season. Her current form indicates that she will likely reach the final rounds of the Australian Open. Especially considering her last appearance in the event. But there’s one hurdle in between.

Rennae Stubbs points out Coco Gauff’s ‘biggest issue’

In 2024, Coco Gauff managed to enter the SF round of the major down under. Unfortunately, she couldn’t move past the challenge of World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka. The latter beat her with a scoreline of 7-6, 6-4. According to Rennae Stubbs, Gauff, starting her 2025 Grand Slam season with a bang, is certainly a possibility, but she believes one area of Gauff’s game still needs work.

“It will be interesting to see how going out of indoors – because we know playing indoors helps your serve,” she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “I want to see how she can handle that going outdoors, with the sun and elements etc. because I think if she can get a more consistent kick serve, that would be huge.”

“That would take perfect timing right now to work on that. That’s all she needs to work on, the serve. The forehand is getting better, that will be okay. Her biggest issue is the serve, if she is double-faulting she is hurting herself big time. I think she is a real threat at the Australian Open if that is under control.”

With an undefeated 8-0 record in hard-court finals, Gauff has proven to be a specialist on this surface. This impressive record positions her as the most formidable threat to Sabalenka’s reign at the Australian Open next month. Do you think Gauff will do one better this time to win her first Australian Open title? Let us know in the comments below.