The tennis community is aiming to figure out the reasons behind Coco Gauff‘s decline. While some think she’s lacking focus, others blame her coach, Brad Gilbert, assuming that he failed in setting her serve and form right. Although there’s still no proven dynamic behind this, another challenge stands ahead of her in Cincinnati. The recently released draw is set to pose a big scare for her title defense.

While everyone seemed to be quite excited to follow her journey through the North American hard court season, it seems like she has a challenging road ahead for the US Open champion. Her opening match in the event is scheduled to be played against Yulia Putintseva, who missed the Canadian Open but will be a tough opponent.

If Gauff manages to be triumphant, her next showdown will feature either Peyton Stearns or Anna Kalinskaya. Currently, in a loving relationship with Jannik Sinner, the Russian stands on a commendable season where she made it to the finals in Dubai and Berlin. Stearns could also not be underestimated because of her commendable performance in Morocco lately.

Although these early matches could be manageable, the real test would appear if she moves on to the quarterfinals. Either Qinwen Zheng or Ons Jabeur would be ready to welcome her. Zheng, in particular, is in fantastic form. She recently won gold at the Paris Olympics by taking down commendable rivals like Iga Swiatek in her journey.

Gauff is coming off a string of disappointing performances lately. She faced a setback in the third round of the WTA Canadian Open by Russia’s Diana Shnaider, who won 6-4, 6-1. The defeat was a big shock as Gauff is ranked number two in the world and was a favorite to win the tournament. She was also knocked out early at the Paris Olympics by Donna Vekic.

The 20-year-old herself has admitted that her lack of confidence and focus has been an issue. “Sometimes I question like whether I should have played or not,“ Gauff said after her loss in Canada. “But at the end of the day I wanted to test myself and see if I would be able to, how I would do being mentally tired a little bit and physically fatigued,” she added.

The American also expressed her disappointment in her performance, saying, “I said going into the tournament I didn’t have high expectations, but I wish I could have competed better today, even if it resulted in a loss. I don’t think I competed well.“ She is aware there is a need to improve. As the Cincinnati Open is set to begin soon enough, all eyes will be on Gauff to see if she can overcome her recent setbacks and defend her title. However, that makes it tough for her to compete as well.

Coco Gauff explains why it’s tough competing as a top-ranked player

At just 20, Gauff became one of the top players in tennis. She has won a Grand Slam and climbed to the top of the world rankings in the last 11 months. This success has made her a target for other players, and she feels the pressure of everyone trying their hardest to beat her. Gauff recently faced a tough match against Wang Yafan, who is ranked 72 in the world.

Even though Gauff won 6-4, 6-4, Wang gave it her all, eventually making it a challenging game. Although the WTA star tried to give her best in the ongoing season, she still faced unexpected losses in the past two tournaments, making her form inconsistent. She lost in the round of 16 to Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympics and to Emma Navarro at Wimbledon.

Gauff spoke about the challenges of being a top-ranked player. “Yeah, it’s definitely difficult. I feel like a lot of times people play their best tennis against the higher-ranked players, and that’s just because they have nothing to lose, so it’s definitely a difference. Yeah, but I think overall it just makes me better. If everybody’s playing me at their high level it can only make me better,” she said. Although this is what she thinks, it could be a possibility that her levels are actually reduced to a notable extent. How will she fare in Ohio?