"It's better to have different champions than the same two" - Coco Gauff sees WTA as more interesting than ATP at present

Coco Gauff has labelled women's tennis currently more exciting than men's tennis due to the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

The duo have swept up the prior eight Grand Slam titles, with them facing off against each other in the previous three. The only events that Sinner has not made the final in this year have come in the Halle Open where he was defeated by Alexander Bublik, and Shanghai Masters where he was forced to retire. Alcaraz has also been able to glide past his opponents, collecting more titles (8) and more wins (67) than anyone this year.

It is a completely different story on the women's side, where Gauff is one of four different major champions in 2025, splitting it much more fairly across the field. "It's honestly great to have four different champions, because I feel like all the girls have had a competitive year," Gauff said ahead of the WTA Finals. "And I think that it makes the sport more exciting when there's multiple chances for something to happen.

In the Australian Open, Madison Keys produced a scintillating display enroute to her maiden Grand Slam title, defeating Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals ahead of overcoming the world number one Aryna Sabalenka to claim the title. The Belarusian would go on to lose another final, this time against Gauff at Roland Garros. It was a whole new final pairing in Wimbledon, with Swiatek comprehensively defeating Amanda Anisimova, who also appeared in the US Open, losing out to Sabalenka. That is five different finalists compared to the three on the men's side.

While Sinner and Alcaraz have continued to improve, they have left the rest of the field in their dust. Gauff believes that if a third rival could enter the fray, then the ATP would be a lot more entertaining and interesting.

"Although Carlos and Jannik are doing great, there's talk about there needing to be a third person and I feel like to make it more interesting, it's better to have different champions than the same two," Gauff said. "I don't want to downplay anything, the rivalry they have is great and exciting for the sport too. But long term, I think it's more exciting for me as a fan, watching the semis and the quarters not knowing who is going to win, whereas knowing who's going to win, but that just shows how great they are."

The last major winner that is not Alcaraz or Sinner is Novak Djokovic, who has firmyl slotted himself as the third best player in the world. He has managed to fend off many of the competition but getting over the line against the big two seem to be a step too far for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. He has only managed to defeat Alcaraz once this year in the Australian Open quarter-final enroute to the first of four consecutive semi-final runs.

In the rankings, Alexander Zverev is the closest to the pair in third. He is the only other player to reach a Grand Slam final this year, losing out in straight sets to Sinner in Melbourne. However, he has been unable to get the better of the pair in 2025, losing twice to Sinner and once to the Spaniard. he has another chance against the Italian, seeking revenge for the final defeat in Vienna as they face off in the Paris Masters semi-final.

Outside of those two, American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton have hugely impressed in recent times, both qualifying for the ATP Finals. Jack Draper has also seen a stark rise up the pecking order which has been slowed due to an arm injury which has seen his season come to an abrupt end. Past challengers such as Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas have not been able to reach the past heights once achieved, while young talents such as Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik need more time to grow as tennis players.

Currently, it does not look like Alcaraz or Sinner will get any firm challengers for a while, with their dominant streak threatening to prolong. This is the complete opposite for the women as they head to Riyadh for the WTA Finals, with it very tricky to pick a winner or even a firm favourite. Gauff is one of the firm favourites, as she looks to defend her triumph from last year. She will commence her title defence tomorrow against Jessica Pegula.