The 2024 China Open was all Coco Gauff could have asked for. It was not just about clinching her eighth career title or becoming the youngest China Open champion in 14 years by defeating Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Beyond the accolades, it was the fan reception throughout. Oh, how one fan asked her to sign their laptop in permanent ink! More than 300,000 fans passed through the gates over the 12-day tournament, and her night matches in the Diamond Court were consistently near capacity. It was the place where the then 20-year-old had “gotten the most gifts,” but right now, all of that looks so far gone.

This Friday, she defeated Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 6-0 to have her spot in the last 32 as she looks to reclaim the China Open crown. The witness to her stunning title defence? Only a handful of spectators in a 15,000-capacity stadium were watching the one-hour and 42-minute match that, by the way, was being held at the prime 7:00 PM session. Where did the charm of last season go?

One can only speculate. Maybe it’s just the beginning phase of the tournament, and fan engagement could increase with time. Or maybe it’s the absence of notable names that could have softened the general interest. Post 2024 Olympics, China had a “tennis fever” thanks to the success of players like Zheng Qinwen. Approximately 120 top players, including Qinwen, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek, competed in the tournament then. But this time around, Sabalenka, Qinwen, Ben Shelton, and Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew, citing injuries. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic decided to sit out because of their schedules. Taylor Townsend withdrew a few days following her controversial comments on Chinese cuisine. Or maybe it’s Gauff’s own shine that has dimmed a little. 

Since her breakthrough at Roland Garros, where she captured her first Grand Slam title by defeating Aryna Sabalenka, Gauff’s 2025 season has struggled to maintain that momentum. She suffered early exits at Wimbledon, losing in the first round to Dayana Yastremska, and later faced a tough defeat against Naomi Osaka at the US Open, highlighting the unevenness in her game. Serving issues, particularly her double faults, have continued to plague her– she hit 23 double faults in a second-round match at the Canadian Open and 10 more in her tense US Open win over Ajla Tomljanovic. Any which way, Gauff didn’t look too bothered by the empty seats. Her problems during the match were entirely else:

Even after a commanding victory, Gauff wasn’t entirely pleased with the setup in Beijing. She admitted the tournament “felt like a practice tournament” and said she was playing with freedom, but the conditions and the balls were a sticking point. “The conditions, today was a little bit faster, but the balls are really slow, especially when they get heavier towards the next ball change,” she explained. 

During long rallies, she noted that shots she expected to finish as winners kept coming back: “Balls that I thought would be winners, I had to keep hitting it over and over.” But again, it’s the mindset that she revealed entering the tournament will have her play Leylah Fernandez in the second round. They had faced each other before at the Australian Open 2025, which saw the American win in straight sets. But Fernandez also has meted out a similar fate to her competitor, Maria Sakkari, with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-0 on a much more quaint court in Beijing.

Before the start of this tournament, Coco Gauff made a very interesting comment about her title defense campaign at the China Open. It raised quite a few eyebrows in the tennis world. But what did she say, though?

Coco Gauff makes an honest admission about her 2025 China Open campaign

Although Coco Gauff won the French Open title this year, she has struggled to find her rhythm after that. Gauff was knocked out of the US Open in the R16 by Naomi Osaka. She had a wonderful Asian swing last year, so her fans are now expecting her to regain her momentum at the China Open, but…

Before the start of this tournament, she made a very surprising comment. The American said, “Yeah, I mean, for me, I don’t know why, it just feels different at the end of the year. Although technically I’m the defending champion, it doesn’t feel like that at all. I don’t want to say ‘not care’ because obviously I’m not playing a tournament and trying to lose or anything. But yeah, there is definitely a weight that you kind of just don’t care in a way, especially when you’ve had like a good moment of the season.”

In her pre-tournament interview, she also spoke about her fascination with the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. “I think the culture is really cool and very different from anything. Being from a country like the U.S., which is considered way younger than China. I think visiting a country with so much history behind it is really cool, just learning about the different dynasties, how everything is kind of intertwined, which we don’t really have that in the U.S. because it is so much a melting pot, whereas here it’s not so,” she said.

Now, coming to her 2025 China Open, who could be her next probable opponents, though? Coco Gauff has won this match against Rakhimova, she will be facing the 2021 US Open finalist, Leylah Fernandez, in the next round. If she manages to dismiss Fernandez, then in the QF, Elena Rybakina will be her probable opponent, and in the semis, she may have to cross paths with her compatriot Amanda Anisimova before taking on Iga Swiatek in the final. Do you think Coco Gauff can overcome all these hurdles and defend her China Open title this year?