"No one looks at her like some impossible goal": Gauff on how dominance of Swiatek isn't unbreakable
WTA
Iga Swiatek has been a stumbling block in Coco Gauff's career ever since the latter made her WTA tour debut. Swiatek has defeated Gauff in all six meetings between the pair to date.
The pair have faced each in various stages of tournaments over the last three years, from the first round to the finals. They first locked horns in the semifinals of the Italian Open in 2021, where Swiatek emerged victorious 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Read also
They faced each other four times last year, most notably in the title clash at Roland Garros. Gauff failed to pick up a single win against the Pole. Most recently, Swiatek beat the American teenager at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of her BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells campaign in Indian Wells, Gauff stated that while Swiatek has achieved a lot in recent months, she doesn't see the World No. 1 as an unbeatable player.
Obviously she [Iga Swiatek] is doing really well but no one looks at her like some impossible goal. I mean, she's just a tennis player. I am not trying to downplay her achievements, she's beaten me a lot of times," she said.
Gauff hoped to see herself dominating at the same level of Swiatek one day.
"But I feel like you can't look at the game that way," she added. "This is a person that's excelling at the level right now, but you can't look at it I guess in a far way because you want that to be you one day," she said.
Gauff also said that while Swiatek deserves all the plaudits, she refused to put the Pole on a pedestal.
"She's one of those players that you kinda have to learn from but also I guess not put too high on a pedestal because that's going to be your opponent at the end of the day. So I think it's like a catch-22 there," she stated.
The American likened the situation to playing against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the men's tour.
"That's like now with a lot of the guys, with the Big 3, Rafa and Novak," she added. "I think it's kinda the same way where the guys have to put them on that pedestal but when they play them, you can't think about everything that they have done on the court," Gauff added.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
claps 0visitors 0
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- I, like writer of this wonderful article, also picked Noskova to win this entire thing. I would love it if she and Andreeva are in the final.Rapunzel12-11-2026
- "Priorities", Saba... spend less time in front of cameras, anti-Social Media, selfies and back to Tennis.
mandoist12-11-2026 - Tell this to Andreeva!
mandoist12-11-2026 - Andreeva with 11 games in a row to add to Saba's downward spiral issue !!! Personal feelings aside... Jess Pegula may want to reassess her evaluation of Mirra's abilities.
mandoist12-11-2026 - I predicted whenthe list was finalised that Linda Noskova would win the WTA Finals and her matches against Gauff and Kostyuk prove that. She is the best (underrated) player in the world!Rapunzel11-11-2026
- Either Lena has a chronic internal ailment (i.e., colitis, enteritis, Crohn's, or some type of lower abdomen issue) -- or she is once again dealing with 'Vukovitis'. Mental stress can indeed cause lower body pains. No matter... whatever is truly going on sucks. "Virus" excuse is getting a bit old -- and often -- at this point.
mandoist09-11-2026 - Ironically, Martina became a U.S. Citizen about the same time as the Orange Convicted Felon & Abuser was just beginning on his road to losing all Daddy's Millions!!
mandoist09-11-2026 - "Another fresh start is in the cards." Thanks for the Humor!! I'm guessing this is the minimum one can do to keep all your sponsors hanging-on in perpetuity?
mandoist09-11-2026 - Vukov is doing this to Lena... AGAIN!!!!! WTA's autonomous collective should be dismantled for allowing Vukov to re-emerge from his hand-slapping suspension. Just ask WTA employees how that's been going lately as they witness his continued verbal abuses. Women's Pro Tennis should start over.
mandoist08-11-2026 - Can't help but suspect Vukov is back to his old self again. Thank you, WTA. Perhaps you can give them a "Battling Couple of the Year Award 2026" ??
mandoist08-11-2026







