“I just want to know that I left my print on this world in some way, shape or form, outside of just the things that I do on the tennis court,” said a zealous Coco Gauff before her maiden Paris Olympics appearance last year. The young talent enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2023 that saw her lift the US Open title. Since then, the American sensation has come a long way. From switching coaches to suffering an acute drop in form, she has seen plenty as a 20-year-old. Though she continues to take notes from her regular tour-level participation, there are some details fans haven’t been informed of. At least not until today.

The World No. 3 arrived in the Californian desert for the BNP Paribas Open, hoping to end her three-match-losing streak since her fourth-round victory over Belinda Bencic at the Australian Open on January 18. She received a bye in the opening round and subsequently, was set for a second-round clash against Moyuka Uchijima. Despite being cut to a frustrating figure racking up 21 double faults, and firing more than 70 unforced errors, Gauff registered a gritty 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) win over the World No. 52 in a little more than two hours.

Later, the 20-year-old sat down for a post-match presser to reveal how her relationship with the sport has evolved over the years, helping her compartmentalize rushing on-court emotions. “Yeah, as I get older, honestly I feel like I love the sport more than when I was 17, 18, just because I felt more pressure then because how I just came and started,” she said. “I think just today is just one of those days where I just did not feel great on the court and because of the last couple of weeks, I’m pretty hard on myself. I just wanted to do better.”

For those unaware, Gauff endured a string of underwhelming results last year after her serving woes compromised her North American hard court swing. A swift acknowledgment of her troubles later saw her switch her coaching camp. She parted ways with coach Brad Gilbert and joined forces with Noami Osaka‘s former coach and technique correction specialist Matt Daly.

The successive weeks saw the American player quickly turn the corner and lift the China Open title. She also concluded the 2024 season on a high note after lifting her maiden WTA Finals crown in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi. However, Gauff will have to come up with strong results if she wants to stay true to her commitment to claiming the World No. 1 from Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. She sailed through the Indian Wells opener but, unfortunately, her recent form has called for concerns.

Coco Gauff admits to not ‘playing her best’ at the Indian Wells Masters

American superstar Coco Gauff was far from her best in Indian Wells. While she hasn’t tasted much success after her quarterfinal finish against Paula Badosa in Melbourne as she later lost her opening-round contests in Qatar and Dubai, her performance on Saturday, March 8 raised alarms for her.

During the same post-match press conference, the 20-year-old expressed disappointment in her game but hoped to move on from the exhausting day on a positive note. “I think today is just one of those days you just don’t feel great on the court. So it’s kind of like frustrating in that way because I was having such great practices this week,” Gauff confessed.

She continued, “Yeah, I mean, obviously I guess some moments I’m showing my happiness a bit more than others. Today is just one of those not-feel-good days at all. I don’t know, you kind of just want to get better and move on from it.”

For now, Gauff will stay locked in for the big task. With no titles to show for this season, the American sensation will look to wrap up her Indian Wells campaign on a high note. She will next lock horns with Maria Sakkari in the Round of 32 on Monday, March 10. Do you think it will be her day? Let us know in the comments.