Coco Gauff was really looking forward to her rematch with Dayana Yastremska at the Cincinnati Open. Refusing to look at it as revenge for the shocker of a defeat in the first round of Wimbledon, the former US Open champion saw it as a means to test her mettle. “I think for me it’s a good measure to see where my game is. I thought that Wimbledon match was a tough loss for me and I don’t think I approached it well,” she said in her press conference before the match. It would have been their fifth meeting on the Tour, and a win here would have taken Coco Gauff’s record to 4-1 against Yastremska. But the world number 31 was forced to withdraw from the epic battle.

Explaining the reason behind her withdrawal, the Ukrainian said she had been unwell for several days and was undergoing treatment with “strong antibiotics“. Yastremska even revealed that she had contemplated withdrawing from her second-round match against Viktoriya Tomova due to her illness, but ultimately she changed her mind and played that match. She mentioned that her condition had caused her heart rate to spike during the physical exertions, leaving her feeling “extremely weak.” So, as a result, she’ll be now take a few days off and prepare herself for the US Open, while Coco Gauff is now all set to face Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the R16.

Born on December 10, 1998, in Rimini, Italy, Bronzetti grew up mostly in Verucchio. Per WTA, She started playing tennis at the age of 10 at the suggestion of her aunt, and started taking lessons at the Valmarecchia Tennis Club. Her training base is in Anzio, and she also trains at the Circolo Tennis Viserba, outside of Rimini. Her cousin, Alberto Bronzetti, is also a tennis player. If we take a look at her tennis career, Lucia Bronzetti made her WTA Tour singles main draw debut in July 2021 after qualifying for the Ladies Open Lausanne. A year later, she qualified for her first major at the 2022 AO.

Coco Gauff’s 26-year-old opponent in the R16 of the Cincinnati Open has career-high WTA rankings of number 46 in singles and number 170 in doubles. She has played three finals and won one singles title on the WTA Tour at the 2023 Morocco Open. On the ITF circuit, she has five singles and two doubles titles. If we take a look at her performance this season, currently ranked 61st in the world, Bronzetti has a win-loss record of 18-20.

Her best result this season came at the Winners Open, where she reached the final. But in the final, she was defeated by Russia’s Anastasia Potapova by 6-4,1-6,2-6. She has now reached the fourth round of the WTA 1000 event thanks to her impressive performance over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the R32. Can she now force a massive upset by defeating Coco Gauff in her next match? Time will tell! But Gauff has never been about all work and no play. 

Coco Gauff takes a short break to unveil her passion for multiple sports

The 2025 season has gone pretty well for Coco Gauff so far. Although she missed quite a few close chances of clinching titles this year, she did manage to win the big one at Roland Garros. Gauff currently has a win-loss record of 34-11, and after failing to make her presence felt at the Canadian Open, she now looks keen to take her North American hard-court swing campaign to newer heights with an impressive performance in Cincinnati.

Just a few days ago, after returning to winning ways with a win against Xinyu Wang, Coco Gauff revealed how much she loves taking part in this tournament. During a conversation with the Tennis Channel, the American said that she spends almost 40 minutes signing autographs after her practice session for the “thoughtful” fans in Cincinnati.

“They really know a lot of players. It’s also great to see this kind of investment in tennis, especially American tennis. It’s really cool. The site is great. For me, just to be here the locker rooms, the free açai bowls are my highlight of the week, and free smoothies. And the unlimited food, I love to eat! So the unlimited food has been my favourite part, not having to worry if your balance is close. So the food is the biggest thing!” she added.

Recently, although she couldn’t test herself against Yastremska, Coco Gauff was spotted making full use of her time in Cincy by making a visit to the Great American Ball Park. She went there to watch the MLB match between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. Later on, the Cincinnati Reds also shared a post on their X account, where Coco Gauff said, “Hey guys, it’s Coco and I’m excited to be here supporting the Reds. It’s my first Red’s baseball game and I’m having a great time.” A break before the epic duel?

Well, this will be Gauff’s third meeting with Bronzetti, and she currently has a 2-0 record against the Italian. Do you think Coco Gauff can put up a dominating show in this match?