CHINA OPEN

September 28, 2026

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Coco, welcome back to Beijing. You've had a lot of success here the last few years. Talk about how excited you are to be back and what your expectations are for this week.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I'm super excited to be back here. Honestly, I have no expectations this week. I don't know why I always do well here, but I always enter this tournament with zero expectations. Maybe that's why I've been doing well here.

But super excited to be back here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I know after New York you were explaining how this stretch of tournaments in Asia is a period where you can kick-start 2027, test out new things. What are you going to try to focus on specifically in this stretch of tournaments?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think just going for my shots a little bit more, trying to be a bit more aggressive. I think also higher first-serve percentage. I win a lot of first-serve percentage points, so I'm just trying to increase that number for making more first serves in.

Yeah, those are the main things. Yeah, without giving away too much, yeah (smiling).

Q. In terms of just post US Open, decompressing, resetting your mind and body for everything, what were you up to? How much did the racquet stay in the bag? Were you back on court grinding away?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I took like maybe five days off, then was back on the court. Yeah, I did something exciting that I want to talk about but I can't yet (smiling). Y'all are going to be like 'What?' when it happens.

Yeah, that's all I can say. I shouldn't have said anything, but I'm just really excited (laughter).

Q. Now that this year's slams are over, what stands out for you coming off of this year and preparing for '27?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think now that the slams are over, I feel like a lot of the pressure is off. So, like I said, I just try to treat this more as a practice month for next year.

Yeah, I think that's also part of the reason why maybe I do do well at this part of the season, just because I feel a little bit more relaxed.

I think being in China, there's a lot of support here. I get a lot of gifts here. I think it just takes a bit of the load off. I think the main thing is the slams being over, it's a lot less chaos now.

Q. I wanted your opinions, people these days criticize tennis players for being active on social media, especially if they don't perform so well on court. Do you think there is any correlation between being a good tennis player and being active on social media or there is no correlation between the two?

COCO GAUFF: There's no correlation. It's funny. Yeah, like my day today, my typical day at home training, I'm like five hours: two and a half hours in the morning on court, hour and a half in the afternoon, hour and a half in the gym. That's not including warm-up and cool down. It takes probably about 30 seconds to film a TikTok. There's definitely no correlation.

I think just tennis is maybe not used to seeing other personalities. I think it's good. I think it allows us to connect with the fans. I think the fans enjoy it. I enjoy it. It gives me a chance to show my other side.

I don't know. I feel like if I didn't play tennis or not, I would be on social media. Obviously you take breaks and stuff. I think as far as like posting, also half the time, like, whenever I'm posting sponsor content, it's not me posting, it's someone else posting it for me. But yeah, everything else is me.

Q. What makes this tournament so exciting to you and so unique to you? What makes you keep coming back here?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think it's just playing here in China is such a unique experience because I feel like Asia's there's so much history here in China, so much culture here. Especially being from the U.S., I think obviously we're old, but China's a really old country.

I think it's really cool to experience things like going to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, feeling the history there. I'm someone who enjoys learning about that.

Like I said, the fans here, I already got some gifts today. Even when I left from home, my suitcase was filled to the brim. My mom is like, You don't have any room for the gifts you're going to take back. I'm like, Don't worry, I packed an extra bag.

It just shows how much love they have. It keeps me wanting to come back here and perform in front of the fans because I appreciate them a lot here.

Q. From your perspective, obviously looking back on this season, we very Elina winning two slams, Linda, Mirra. In the past you, Aryna, Iga have been the ones that have been showcased at the slams winning the trophies. Is there any theory as to why we've gotten, not that Elena is a new champion, but getting two new ones, a little bit of a shift at the majors this year?

COCO GAUFF: I don't really think there's a theory. I feel like Elena's always been like a top player. I think she just had some struggles with injuries, maybe consistency. Obviously she was going through her own things.

I think now everything seems like it's come together. So it's not a surprise at all that she's won two slams this year.

I don't know. I don't really think there is a theory. Women's tennis over the past has been so not surprising, but for fans it's surprising. On the guys, it's so consistent. So I think for other people it seems so surprising.

But amongst players, we're practicing, playing against these players. No, it's not a surprise that Mirra won. No, it's not a surprise that Linda won. I think it goes for a lot of the top 10. There are no surprises. I think it's all about who is able to take those opportunities when you can get them.

Yeah, I think Elena is for sure someone who's going to continue to win for a while just because of the weapons she's had. I think it's no surprise. I don't have no theory.

I mean, you reach a certain age, things start to come together. You start doing well, being more consistent. I think that's where she's at, in her prime. Yeah, but I think she's going to win many more.

Hopefully I can not lose to her in some more semis, because it's been two back-to-back ones (smiling). Maybe next time it will land on my side.

Thanks.