The tennis community was taken by surprise last September when Aryna Sabalenka briefly dethroned Iga Swiatek as world No. 1. But Swiatek got her revenge after she won the WTA Finals in Cancun. However, many feel that Sabalenka will be Swiatek’s “biggest rival” in 2024. Now that the talk of a new women’s ‘Big 3’ has popped up in the tennis world, fans came forward with an argument about why Coco Gauff was being left out of the conversation.

After defeating Rybakina in a thrilling semifinal at the Madrid Open, Sabalenka opened up about her rivalry with the Kazakh and Swiatek. “I like that they call us the Big 3. I feel that, somehow, we are motivating each other. Sometimes we have a very bad time, but at the same time, that helps us to improve and continue working harder and harder, looking for new things.” She had a similar take in a press conference ahead of the Italian Open.

“I know we have some rivals, meaning like me, Iga and Elena. We’re doing maybe more consistently, playing more consistently [than] past years. Maybe last year and this year so far.” However, the World No.2 shared her disagreement with the idea that the three of them are different from the other WTA players and expressed how anyone can defeat the other person in tennis.

The 26-year-old star further added, “If you start thinking like my level is there… You’re not respecting them. You underestimate them…” Sabalenka expressed that Swiatek was better than her on clay and Elena was better than her on grass.

As for Iga Swiatek, the world No.1 herself snubbed the American for Rybakina, despite the current WTA rankings. During an interview last month, when the Pole was asked about the top players on her list, she said, “I just think, you know, honestly, probably me, Aryna, and her (Rybakina) are the best players on tour, honestly.”

This had fans expressing why the 2023 US Open champion was left behind. They took to social media and highlighted the difficulties the young player has had to navigate in her career in the face of the demands and expectations of the professional tennis circuit.

Coco Gauff could be the Andy Murray of the WTA Tour, per fans

The thing about tennis rankings is that they have a 12-month cycle. Although Coco Gauff had a spectacular American swing in the latter half of 2023 (with titles in Washington, Cincinnati, and the US Open), she has not been faring well in the Race to Riyadh. Currently, she’s No.5 behind Swiatek, Rybakina, Sabalenka, and her compatriot Danielle Collins, which could be the reason for the sentiments.

A fan posted a query about why she couldn’t figure out why Coco Gauff always seemed to be left out of conversations about the new competition between Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina, the women’s big three, which ignited a debate about why Gauff was not included in the list.

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Even though Gauff is World No.3 currently, due to her poor performance and inconsistency, fans feel that she does not fit in the Big 3. A user wrote, “She has holes in the game that the other two dont have.” Usually, the top contenders would be capable of beating each other in the top 5 at least, but Gauff has lost 9 out of 10 times Swiatek.

Another user commented, “Gauff is the only one in top 10 that hasn’t won a match against a top 20 player in 2024 😱 sorry but she’s not a threat at this moment.” A lot of other tennis fans came forward to support Gauff.

In ATP, although Andy Murray was a great player, he was not a part of the ‘Big 3’. It was Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Similarly, in WTA, some feel Gauff is like Murray. Echoing a similar sentiment, a fan wrote, “At this point, I’d vote for a “big 4” instead of big 3 among women tennis players. I think the big 4 for men’s tennis players was always a stretch given the dominance of 3.”

Stating the statistical side of why she is behind the other three players, a fan wrote, “Her ranking doesn’t reflect her quality and form. Since USO she has no game. She plays like 100-120 ranked players. Any other player in top 10 has better results since USO than her. Stop putting Coco where she doesn’t belong!” Likewise, some fans believed it was too early to decide as many matches are lined up, and the rankings may change accordingly.

A fan wrote, “Exactly! Like why is there a ranking system if we’re going to exclude other top players on important conversations like that? There’s definitely some sort of bias somewhere and I sense it’s the journalists creating this bias. Regardless, @CocoGauff will show them who she really is when she works on her back serve! We’re here for you Coco!!”

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on the WTA Big 3? Do let us know in the comment section below.