“Maybe I will have to choose some tournaments and skip them, even though they are mandatory.” Iga Swiatek has been honest about the ongoing tour scheduling format. Coco Gauff shares the same sentiment about the rigorous schedules. The 21-year-old American and two-time slam winner hasn’t been so lucky in maintaining a dominant run. And the reason is actually not surprising at all, according to a former WTA icon.

Talking to Mitch Michals in an episode of the Inside-In podcast, ex-WTA pro Coco Vandeweghe highlighted how the hectic schedule of events is causing players to feel off – so much so that they cannot give their all on the court. She brought up the example of her compatriot Gauff, who has yet to win a trophy since her Roland Garros triumph back in June.

“After the French (Open), she went on this great press tour and well deserved, absolutely, winning the French in the fashion that she did but was super burnt out, come Wimbledon from the grass court.” Vandeweghe noted, “We saw her go out early in Berlin and she didn’t play another tournament before then and you really saw her kind of suffer in the early stages.”

The burnout or fatigue is real. Most tennis players have no time to recover, as it is one of the most critical aspects of an athlete. Without recovery, a tennis player cannot function on the tennis court in full flight. Therefore, the players must feel hard done by with all the tennis tournaments in their way.

“And I do mean suffer more so internally, not so much suffer as results because you could see cracks of, okay you are getting a little bit frustrated too quickly, or you are seeing the doubt start to weigh into players’ mind.” Throwing light on the gaps between the slams being hardly enough for Gauff, she continued, “It is so wear-and-tear of two Grand Slams, back-to-back, French and Wimbledon. It is about a three-week stretch that, you know, usually you don’t get any breaks and you are going into the US Open swing that has now been extended to a crazy amount. I think it is crazy.”

Post-French Open, Gauff had little time to get back into her player mode due to non-stop interviews. She didn’t have the proper time to practice when she stepped onto the Berlin court. The American was ousted in the first round itself. And then came the nightmarish and forgettable Wimbledon campaign. Against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, Gauff could hardly compete before getting dismantled in straight sets.

She was back on the court at the Canadian Open in the next few weeks, but the fate remained unchanged. In the fourth round, teenage sensation Victoria Mboko ousted her in straight sets. The same was true in Cincinnati, where she failed to pass the QF stage against Jasmine Paolini. And within less than two months, Gauff had to appear in another slam at Flushing Meadows. There, Naomi Osaka had the better of her in the fourth round.

While the lack of proper breaks may have caused an inconsistency, Gauff would now like to improve moving forward, especially given that she has regained her momentum after a long time in the 2025 season.

Coco Gauff looks to focus on China Open and leave an impact

Sometimes you just need to forget the terrible phase and focus on what’s next. It applies in the case of Coco Gauff. Currently, she is experiencing a resurgence at the China Open this week. Leaving her US Open setback behind, the defending champion of the WTA 1000 event is looking in good touch.

But Gauff’s battles haven’t been easy by any means. In the R32, against Leylah Fernandez, she had to win in a marathon encounter. After besting the Canadian in a decider (6-4, 4-6, 7-5), in two hours and 45 minutes, she confessed, “It was very physical. We were going back and does.” She added, “The third set I was playing pretty well. I could serve a bit better, but I did what I needed to do to win today.”

Then, in the R16 against Belinda Bencic, things got aggravated due to a verbal exchange between the two. After Bencic put pressure on her in the first set, the crowd’s behavior annoyed the Swiss. Gauff, however, remained calm and held her nerves to make a strong comeback. Eventually, she beat Bencic in a decider while sealing her spot in the last eight.

During the post-match interview, Gauff admitted that her campaign has been anything but comfortable. Especially when it comes to adapting to the conditions in Beijing. Talking about her crunch fight against Bencic, she revealed, “The conditions were so slow, which I feel like she does well with because she likes to take the ball so early. I felt like my heaviness wasn’t doing much, especially as the balls got older.”

Gauff will have to regain her senses and channel all her attention onto the next match. On Thursday, she will face rising German talent Eva Lys in the quarterfinals. The former world no.2 will look to register one more win and advance to a second-straight China Open final.