Coco Gauff shares her feelings about next United Cup opponent Xinyu Gao

Coco Gauff recently shared her thoughts on her upcoming match against China's Xinyu Gao in the quarterfinals of the 2025 United Cup. This match between Gauff and Gao will mark the first time the two players will meet on the tour.

Gauff kicked off her 2025 season strong, contributing to Team USA's victory over Canada. She secured a win in the women's singles match against Leylah Fernandez and later clinched the deciding mixed doubles match alongside Taylor Fritz, defeating the pair of Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In the following tie against Croatia, the former World No.2 triumphed over Donna Vekic in the singles match and then partnered with Fritz to defeat Petra Marcinko and Ivan Dodig to secure their spot in the quarterfinals where they will face Team China.

On the other hand, during China's match against Brazil, Xinyu Gao emerged victorious against Beatriz Haddad Maia and later secured another win for her team against Germany's Laura Siegemund.

Speaking at a press conference, Coco Gauff shared her thoughts on the upcoming women's singles match against Xinyu Gao in the USA-China quarterfinals tie at the 2025 United Cup. Gauff praised Gao's strong performance and said that she is expecting the match between them to be a "fun one."

“Yeah, I watched a couple of her matches, and she's having an incredible week, obviously. Yeah, I expect her to play loose. She has nothing to lose . Yeah, I feel I'm playing in good form too, so it's going to be a fun one," Gauff said

The youngster acknowledged that facing Gao will be "tough" as the latter has nothing to lose, unlike herself, who faces the pressure of expectations due to her ranking.

“I mean, obviously, yeah, any time you have to play someone who has nothing to lose, it's tough. You know they're going to bring their best tennis. But I feel like at this point in my career, the higher ranked you are, the harder people play you. I think at this point I just expect it," she added.

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Coco Gauff on her strong start to the 2025 season at United Cup: “I can't ask for anything else"

In Picture: Coco Gauff at the 2025 United Cup [Image Source: Getty Images]

In the aforementioned press conference, Coco Gauff spoke about her performance in the group stages of the 2025 United Cup. She said that she was satisfied with the strong start to her season and that she couldn't have asked for anything more.

The 20-year-old admitted to feeling anxious about facing tough opponents at the beginning of the season but was pleased with her wins in those matches.

“Yeah, I can't ask for anything else. Yeah, definitely a productive start against two really great players. Yeah, I was a little bit worried, like, having to start the season off against, like, tough opponents, but obviously I think I managed pretty well,"

Looking ahead, Gauff is expected to compete at the 2025 Australian Open following the conclusion of the United Cup. Her best performance at the Melbourne Major came in 2024 when she reached the semifinals before falling to eventual champion, Aryna Sabalenka.