Coco Gauff’s 2025 began with a resounding victory, leading Team USA to glory at the United Cup. She then continued her momentum with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open. However, her Middle East swing proved challenging, marked by consecutive early exits. Gauff managed to break her losing streak by reaching the round of 16 at Indian Wells, though she was unable to advance further. Reflecting on her recent performance, she offered a measured perspective, stating, “I mean, overall I feel like, I mean, it’s not as bad as it seems, I guess,” assuring her fans of her dedication to improvement. Now, Gauff is set to face fellow American Sofia Kenin in the round of 64 at the Miami Open. Will she be able to turn her season around and emerge victorious in this all-American showdown?

Coco Gauff vs Sofia Kenin: Preview

Coco Gauff defeated the former number 3, Maria Sakkari, in the R32 of the Indian Wells Masters. But she went down to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist, Belinda Bencic, in the next round by 6-3,3-6,4-6.

On the other hand, her compatriot Sofia Kenin has also been in good form this year. She has already reached two QFs this season and Kenin will be entering this contest following her impressive 6-4,7-5 win over Petra Kvitova (CZE) in the first round (R128).

Gauff vs Kenin: Head-to-Head

This will be their second meeting this season and fifth overall. Currently, Coco Gauff and Sofia Kenin are leveled at 2-2 in their head-to-head record.

• 2025 Australian Open R128: Gaufff 6-3,6-3.
• 2023 Wimbledon R128: Kenin, 6-4,4-6,6-2.
• 2023 Auckland R16: Gauff 6-4,6-4.
• 2020 Australian Open R16: Kenin 6(5)-7,6-3,6-0.

Prediction: Gauff will win this match in three sets

Both these players have an impressive record on the hard courts. Sofia Kenin won the AO title in 2020, whereas Coco Gauff was the 2023 US Open champion. Well, if we take a look at their numbers this season, Gauff (3) has a win-loss record of 11-4 and Kenin (46) has managed to put up a record of just 11-7 as of now. Other than that, we must not forget that Gauff has reached the fourth round in Miami twice (2022,2024), but Kenin has failed to progress beyond the third round.

Both these players know this surface pretty well, but I feel Coco Gauff’s game suits this surface more than Kenin’s. Talking about their playing style, Kenin is known for her baseline-oriented, aggressive style, excelling with both her forehand and backhand, particularly her backhand down the line and inside-in forehand, and her ability to disguise where her backhand is going. She has a wide range of shots and that includes her incredible drop shot and slice forehands. What does Coco Gauff have in her armory to counter all of these?

Well, Gauff is also known for her aggressive, all-court style, characterized by a powerful serve, strong groundstrokes, and exceptional athleticism, allowing her to adapt to various surfaces and opponents. She also has an excellent defensive game, and her incredible fighting spirit is something that separates her from others on the Tour. She can mix up her shots pretty well and also has the ability to win longer rallies.

However, despite being a big server, her major weakness has been her high number of double fault counts. She has already committed 104 doubles faults in 2025 and even in her previous match she hit 8 double faults against Bencic. So, this is one factor that is a bit of concern in Gauff’s game. Other than that, I feel she has all the weapons to win this epic duel against Kenin.