Looks like Coco Gauff is back to her usual business. After a tough US Open campaign that ended with a round of 16 exit at the hands of Naomi Osaka, the American tennis star kick-started her China Open journey on an emphatic note, cruising to a historic win over Kamilla Rakhimova in the round of 64. With the win, it’s clear that Gauff is already eyeing the next round, but as the defending champion, she also has her sights set on something she couldn’t achieve the first time—thanks to Carlos Alcaraz.

For the unaware, in her pre-match press conference, Coco reflected that many of her best memories from the 2024 tournament actually came “more off court.” Asked what stood out the most, she smiled and said, “Well, the first thing was the Great Wall. I thought that was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen in person. Especially when you look at how long ago, it was built. So that was really cool.” The Forbidden City, however, was something that she couldn’t experience the way she wanted to, mainly because, she had planned to explore it with Alcaraz, who was fashionably late.

“I only did it, like, 25 minutes with Carlos. He came late, so it got cut short. I didn’t do it that much,” Gauff laughed, playfully teasing Carlos Alcaraz while also hinting at her genuine curiosity to dive deeper into China’s heritage. Cheeky dig, but thankfully, Gauff now has enough time to check her Beijing bucket list. “Super happy to be back here. I have great memories here from last year. Hoping to make some more good memories here,” remarked Gauff in the post-game interview, securing a dominant 6-4, 6-0 victory over the Russian tennis star.

Quite the memory the 21-year-old holds of this place, considering it was just last year she came to this very arena to secure her singles title by defeating the Czech Republic star Karolína Muchova 6–1, 6–3. Then again, it may come as a surprise that even with such fond memories, the American still isn’t all that familiar with things off the court. When pressed about her wish to revisit the Forbidden City for “more blessings,” the 20-year-old admitted that one item on her bucket list is still pending.

“No, I haven’t. I just haven’t had time. But maybe tomorrow or something. I wanna go shopping, so I think we’re gonna go to some of the malls here today,” she added, as compiled by @TheTennisLetter on X. Quite the planning she has done for this trip, as Coco Gauff admitted she wants to explore more of Beijing this time around — something she had to compromise on last year. 

Coco Gauff seemed so invested in her off-court plans that she almost brushed past today’s remarkable milestone. But while it may have slipped by as a bland occasion for her, we certainly remember it.

A bittersweet China return for Coco Gauff

As Coco Gauff opened her title defense in Beijing against Kamilla Rakhimova, this result led the American tennis sensation to achieve some remarkable feats. Firstly, this marked her seventh consecutive win at the China Open. Additionally, she now holds the distinction of being the youngest player to notch 11 women’s singles wins at the China Open since its launch in 2004, an achievement highlighted by OptaJack on X.

Then again, behind the significance of her historic win lay a bittersweet reality. Surprisingly, for a player who is no stranger to the box office crowd, Gauff walked onto the Beijing court in an atmosphere she had never experienced here before. The stands, built to hold thousands inside the Diamond Court, were scattered with only a few spectators, and the usual roar of support was replaced by silence broken only by the sound of the ball.

This is a far cry from last year’s experience, when Gauff herself praised Beijing as the place where she had received “the most gifts” from fans. This time, however, the love for the defending champion seemed to be missing. The reason? Still unclear. Then again, to lift her spirits, she now looks forward to her round of 32 clash against Leylah Fernandez — a player she holds a 2-0 record against — and, perhaps more importantly, to finally fulfilling her Forbidden City wish along with a fair bit of shopping!