“I feel like that’s what being in a coffin would feel like” - Coco Gauff fit to feature in Miami Open as she touches on daunting experience inside an MRI machine

Coco Gauff is in good spirits and raring to go ahead of the Miami Open. The world number four suffered a concerning injury at the prior Indian Wells event, forced to retire in the third round against Alexandra Eala. However, the pain in her left arm has subsided and she is ready to compete in what she described as a 'bucket list tournament.'

Born in Florida, this is classed as her home tournament and provides a lot of sentimental value to what will be a hugely entertaining and demanding couple of weeks for the best players in the world. It is the final chance to step out onto the hard court until August with the clay swing rapidly approaching - a surface Gauff favoured a lot last year.

Reaching the final of the Madrid and Rome Open, Gauff backed these showings up with victory in the French Open for her second Grand Slam triumph in hugely impressive fashion. That is a lot of points set to be coming off her tally, and she will be hoping to collect a bunch before leaving the States to set up camp in Europe.

Against Eala in California, Gauff felt some pain in her left arm. This was suitably described by the two-time Grand Slam champion 'like a firework going off in my arm.' She retired after going down 6-2, 2-0 to the talented Filipina, with her participation in the upcoming Miami Open up in the air.

Despite this, the injury is not too serious and Gauff is willing to play through it, as described at a pre-tournament roundtable. “It was a nerve thing, like I said immediately after the match,” Gauff summarised. “Every day is different. But for the most part I’ll be fine playing this tournament. I may feel it sometimes on court, but I definitely feel it less and less every day, if that makes sense.”

She described the experience of undergoing the scan on her arm—her first time inside an MRI machine. In fairness, it was not the most comfortable thing for the 21-year-old. “I feel like that’s what (being in) a coffin would feel like,” she stated. “It was very weird, it felt claustrophobic. I definitely don’t want to go for one of those again.”

She would do whatever it takes to compete in her home tournament, ruling out any thoughts of not competing in the event. “The goal was to play this tournament,” she said. “There was a thought of skipping it. I think if it wasn’t Miami I would probably skip this tournament. But the fact that it is, I really wanted to play here.”

While her form has not been great in Miami, never making it past the fourth round, it is still special to compete on home soil in the state she grew up in. The form may not be at the standard she was hoping for, but Gauff has demonstrated herself as a fighter in these tough times, never giving up when the going gets tough and often coming out victorious despite not being at her imperious best. She will look to find a spurt of form ahead of an important part of the calendar. “This is obviously a bucket list tournament for me,” she commented.

Either Elisabetta Cocciaretto or lucky loser Darja Semenistaja will come up against the number four seed. A tie against the Italian would be a chance to right the wrongs experienced in the Qatar Open, where she suffered a damaging defeat against the Hobart International champion.