At the Australian Open, Coco Gauff played amazing tennis and advanced to her third grand slam semifinal. While responding to questions from the media, the American athlete keeps her attention on the court. She talked about Saudi Arabia and the recent signing of an ATP great as she sat down for the post-match press conference.
After her most recent victory over Marta Kostyuk, the 19-year-old sat down for the post-match press conference when she was questioned about Rafael Nadal’s agreement with the Saudi Tennis Federation. Gauff claimed that when the news spread that the WTA Finals would be held in Saudi Arabia, she had already noticed the beginnings of a potential relocation.
She expressed her thoughts and said: “I think the WTA, I’ve noticed, is probably Cancun; they’re trying to take more steps to communicate with the players about certain decisions. And part of the reason they didn’t go to Saudi Arabia last year for the Finals was that they didn’t have time to. I feel like if we go there, we have the opportunity to make a change. Hopefully, you know, I know the situation there isn’t great. Don’t support the situation there, but I hope that if we do decide to go there, I hope that we’re able to make the change there, improve the quality there, engage in the local communities, and make a difference.”
Gauff has stated that she thinks players should have more influence in the selection process, even though the WTA has not yet decided on Saudi Arabia. According to Gauff, the WTA is putting more effort into involving players, though it’s unclear if they have the final say in decisions.
She added: “Yeah, and there hasn’t been a decision made about Saudi Arabia, and so I can’t speak much of that. But I will say that they are trying to at least communicate with the players more. I don’t know if we have, like, you know, a final say or decision-making but at least we’re getting into the conversations. I do appreciate the effort to change and include us more so we know more about what’s going on. At the end of the day, the WTA was founded by players.”
Coco Gauff says she doesn’t support the situation in Saudi Arabia, but she hopes that if WTA does go there, they’ll have the opportunity to make a difference:
“I think the WTA, I've noticed probably
Cancun, they're trying to take more steps of communicating with the players… pic.twitter.com/0jIYttTzke— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 23, 2024
Gauff at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
WWWLLWLWWL Currently the world no.4, the American has managed to achieve a 10-0 win-loss record in 2024. The American is playing at the moment at the Australian Open where she bested the world no.68 Anna Schmiedlova 6-3 6-0, the world no.43 Caroline Dolehide 7-62 6-2, the world no.82 Alycia Parks 6-0 6-2, the world no.69 Magdalena Frech 6-1 6-2 and the world no.37 Marta Kostyuk 7-66 6-73 6-2.
Coco Gauff will square off with the world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal. Their record is 4-2 for Gauff.
Gauff conquered 1 title in 2024 in Auckland.
Coco won 7 titles in her career: 5 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff |
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