Coco Gauff forced to alter birthday celebrations as Indian Wells hopes get crushed

Coco Gauff had to change her birthday celebration plans after her run at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells came to an end. Gauff will be celebrating her 21st birthday on March 13, 2025.

Gauff was seeded third at the WTA 1000 hard court tournament in California and began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She started strong by defeating Moyuka Uchijima with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) in her opening match, and then went on to defeat 29th seed Maria Sakkari 7-6(1), 6-2 in the third round.

However, the World No.3's run at Indian Wells came to an end in the fourth round when she was defeated by wild card Belinda Bencic with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.

During the post-match press conference following her loss to Bencic, Coco Gauff was asked about her plans for her 21st birthday.

In response, Gauff expressed that she was excited about turning 21 and mentioned that while she would have loved to continue competing in the tournament, she would now be celebrating with her family after returning home.

"I don't know . I mean, I don't know if I'm going to feel any different. But, yeah, I think it's an exciting age to turn. Usually I don't really care, I guess, when my birthday is, but I am excited, and obviously I would have loved to be out here tomorrow. But I'm going to try to either get home tonight or tomorrow just to celebrate with my family," Coco Gauff said.

Coco Gauff's best performances this season have been helping Team USA win the 2025 United Cup and reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.

---

After defeating Coco Gauff, Belinda Bencic will face Madison Keys at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells QF

Belinda Bencic during her match against Coco Gauff at Indian Wells [Image Source: Getty Images]

After defeating Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Belinda Bencic will next take on Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.

Bencic received a wild card entry into the main draw at the WTA 1000 hard court tournament in California and she began her campaign by defeating Tatjana Maria in the first round and overcame 17th seed Amanda Anisimova in the second round. She then triumphed over 13th seed Diana Shnaider and Coco Gauff in the third and fourth rounds, respectively to secure her spot in the quarterfinals against Keys.

Meanwhile, Madison Keys is seeded fifth at Indian Wells and began her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She defeated the likes of Anastasia Potapova, 28th seed Elise Mertens and 19th seed Donna Vekic to advance to the quarterfinals.

Belinda Bencic and Madison Keys have faced each other four times on the WTA Tour, with both players winning two matches each. Their most recent encounter was in the third round of the 2022 Charleston Open, where the Swiss emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 6-4. She then went on to defeat Ons Jabeur in the final to claim the title