Let’s be honest: surviving in a desert alone would take quite a bit of mental fortitude. The blistering heat, lack of food, scarce water, and unforgiving conditions could break just about anyone. But if WTA ace Coco Gauff ever found herself stranded in a vast sea of sand, she has the perfect survival plan: bring along none other than tennis royalty — Roger Federer! Gauff shared her thoughts recently, making it clear that if there’s anyone she’d want by her side in the ultimate endurance test, it’s Fed.

Coco Gauff’s 2025 season hasn’t quite started the way the American had hoped. The third seed suffered an early exit at the Qatar Open, crashing out in the second round to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 2-6, 5-7, after receiving a bye in the opening round. Returning to the Middle East for the first time since her triumphant WTA Finals win in Riyadh at the end of 2024, Gauff faced another setback, falling in straight sets to McCartney Kessler at the Dubai Tenns Championships. A rough stretch, no doubt.

However, champions rise, and Coco did just that at Indian Wells! She snapped her 3-match losing streak in a nail-biting clash with Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, then delivered a statement win over Greek Maria Sakkari in straight sets: sweet revenge for last year’s BNP Paribas Open SF loss. And, just as she geared up for her highly anticipated R16 match, Gauff took a moment to answer a fun question: Who would she want by her side to survive a desert ordeal?

Recently, the official IG page of the BNP Paribas Open dropped a fun survival-themed video, captioned, “Which @atptour or @wta player would you pick to be stranded in the desert with? 🌵,” where ATP and WTA stars were asked to pick their ultimate survival hero. While most athletes, including Gauff’s fellow American Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek, and Carlos Alcaraz, chose active players still competing on both ATP and WTA tours, Coco threw in a surprise pick: the iconic Roger Federer! She explained her choice, saying, “Okay, I feel like Roger is a good one. Seems like he would be calm in those situations and also know what to do.” But why Federer, out of all people?

Well, Roger’s survival instincts aren’t exactly a secret, both on and off the court. His ability to escape tricky situations with his iconic ‘backhand’ and masterful shot-making is legendary. But off the court? He has demonstrated his ability to adapt in some surprising ways, to be honest. Remember Running Wild With Bear Grylls? Federer braved the ‘Alps’ alongside the survival expert, sharing heartfelt stories about ‘raising’ twins, playing a game of ‘ping-pong’ in the wilderness, and even dropping into a gorge- oh, and let’s not forget eating fish eyeballs’! The episode gave fans a whole new perspective on the Swiss legend’s resilience.

“I got an address, somewhere in the Swiss mountains – that’s all I know. This is like before a match, now, so I start to feel the pulse going boom-boom. I might look like a tough guy on the tennis courts, but I’m actually very scared of a lot of things in life. There’s gonna be scary moments for me, so (Bear) just hold my hand!” Roger said back then.

That said, on the courts of the BNP Paribas Open, Coco, who made waves at the Oscars recently, probably doesn’t need Federer’s survival tips; she’s doing just fine on her own. Storming through the tournament, she’s making a statement with dominant performances, all while channeling inspiration from yet another tennis legend from America.

Coco Gauff matches records with the Williams sisters at the BNP Paribas Open

Coco Gauff served up a sweet slice of BNP Paribas Open revenge on Monday, taking down Maria Sakkari in a statement 7-6(1), 6-2 victory. After falling to the Greek star in last year’s SF, the former US Open winner flipped the script, battling past the 29th seed to book her spot in the 4th round against Belinda Bencic. Backing up her R64 triumph against Moyuka Uchijima, the 20-year-old American is now on a mission to go deeper than ever before in the California desert.

And, in doing so, Coco is walking the path paved by legends. For the third straight year, she’s reached the 4th round, a feat last achieved by Venus Williams between 2017 and 2019. But the history-making doesn’t stop there as she’s also the youngest American woman since Serena Williams (1999-2001) to reach the Indian Wells second week three years in a row. With momentum on her side, Coco is hungry for more, and after the match, she shared her thoughts on what’s next.

“Resilience, I guess. Overall, it was much better than the previous match. Just trying to keep getting better as the rounds go on. I lost to Maria last year in the semifinal, so it felt good to get a little revenge today, even though I love her,” the American said in the post-match interview.

Coco holds a narrow advantage in their head-to-head record, with two wins to Bencic’s one. Is another victory on the cards for the 20-year-old, leading to her advancement to the quarter-finals? What do you think?