How Coco Gauff competed her way out of a slump, and finished back at her best, in Beijing

Coco Gauff was the No. 4 seed at the China Open. She made the semifinals at the same tournament last year. She’s a Grand Slam champion and has one of the sport’s most recognizable faces.

But when the 1000-level event in Beijing began two weeks ago, with seven of the WTA’s Top 10 in the field, Gauff wasn’t at the top of anyone’s list of potential champions.

She had her doubts, too.

“I’m happy to be in the final; I wasn’t expecting it,” she said before meeting Karolina Muchova in the title match.

Gauff claimed that she came to Beijing thinking of it as a chance to have a “practice week,” and to start doing “preseason” work with the coach she had just added to her team, Matt Daly.

Putting her 2024 behind her seemed like a good idea. She hadn’t won a title since January. She had been eliminated by a lower-ranked fellow American, Emma Navarro, in two straight majors. She had lost confidence in her serve and forehand. She had split with Brad Gilbert, the coach who took her to the US Open title. After her breakthrough Summer of Coco in 2023, she seemed to be back at square one.

And yet there she was on Sunday, holding up the trophy and claiming the $585,000 winner’s check. She beat an in-form Muchova, one of the tour’s most talented players, in two quick, convincing sets, 6-1, 6-3. A month after committing 19 double faults against Navarro at the Open, and looking lost at times tactically, she was back to her best.

Maybe Gauff should hire a new coach every week.

“Today I just felt on, even from the first game,” she said after beating Muchova. “I had that feeling that I felt last year, too. Sometimes you just wake up and you’re like, ‘Today is my day.’”

Was it really that simple? I’d say a couple of things evolved over the week in Beijing that led to Gauff’s rapid rebound.

First, there was her ability to make comebacks and win without her best in the early rounds. Gradually, her confidence in her competitive skills developed into a renewed confidence in her game.

Gauff started by winning a two tough 7-5 first sets against Clara Burel and Katie Boulter. She lost the first set to Naomi Osaka, then won the second, before Osaka retired. She lost the first set to Yulia Starodubtseva before winning the last two. She was down a set, a break, and nearly a second break to Paula Badosa in the semifinals, before winning 10 of the last 12 games. By the time she reached the third set against Badosa. Gauff wasn’t just scrapping to stay alive anymore. She was dictating. The doubt had gone out of her strokes.

“I always grew up on the philosophy that the second set is the most important set,” Gauff said after beating Badosa. “You either win the match on that set or you stay in the match with that set.”

The second positive factor was the new presence in her coaching box. Daly, a former college player and coach of Denis Shapovalov, joined Jean-Christophe Faurel to form her new team in Beijing. During her matches, Daly was consistently calm and positive, even when she was unhappy and on the brink of defeat against Badosa. His response was always a clap and a nod and a word of encouragement.

“Today I just felt on, even from the first game ... Sometimes you just wake up and you’re like, ‘Today is my day.’” - Coco Gauff

Finally, Gauff played within herself in a way that she hasn’t in 2024. For much of her time with Gilbert, she was trying to build a more aggressive baseline game, which required her to take more risk with her forehand. Sometimes it worked, but often times it led to wild, uncharacteristic errors. Against Muchova, Gauff had success hitting her forehand high and safely to the Czech’s backhand, and using her speed to force her opponent into errors. Gauff began the match in her defensive comfort zone, but gradually grew more aggressive—without forcing the issue or hitting recklessly. It felt more organic.

The result was a familiar one for Muchova, who dropped to 0-3 against Gauff. It seems the timing is never right for her to have a long, physical slog against the tireless Floridian.

“I lost to her three times in a row,” Muchova said. “I’ll say, very similar losses. I lost them all the same way. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt. It’s very physical with her. I felt like the second one always in the rallies.”

For Gauff, it seems that keeping things fresh, with new ideas—and perhaps less pressure from a new coach—is a key to her tennis health. She won her first tournament with Gilbert last year, and now she’s won her first tournament with Daly and Faurel. If history continues to repeat itself, we might see bigger wins ahead.