"Everybody makes a bigger deal than what it is": Coco Gauff remains confident ahead of Indian Wells despite two first-round exits from WTA events

America’s young tennis star Coco Gauff has stated that she is not worried about her form ahead of the Indian Wells despite two early exits from WTA events. The 20-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category, along with the likes of world number one Aryna Sabalenka and world number two Iga Swiatek.

Gauff is set to feature in the upcoming WTA 1000 event — Indian Wells. The two-week mega-event will feature some top players from all over the world who will battle to secure the ultimate prize. Gauff is coming into the competition after suffering early exits from her last two appearances in WTA events.

She was knocked out in the first round of the Qatar Open after losing to Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 7-5. Then, later in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, the one-time Grand Slam winner was knocked out after losing in the first round to McCartney Kessler in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-5. Talking ahead of her Indian Wells encounter, Gauff stated that she is not worried about her form despite two back-to-back first-round defeats.

“Yeah, for me, I don't know, everybody makes a bigger deal than what it is,” she said. “I lost two matches. I'll lose more matches back to back, it's going to happen. Everyone is, like, oh, she's sinking. Okay, we've been through this. I'll pick it back up. To me, for me I guess it feels like a month but it's just two tournaments, and at this calendar I have so many other opportunities, and I can't win every match. Yeah, it is a tough part of the swing for me, just I think mainly because the conditions I don't think are in my favor. But at the end of the day, like, yeah, I was upset that I lost, but it's a loss, like, it's going to happen again. I'm going to lose back to back again. Hopefully it doesn't happen too many times in my career. But yeah, it's just one of those things that you just move on and get better. You know the results will come. It's, you know, just normal, I think. I'm only 20 years old, going to be 21 next week. It would be kind of silly for me to think it won't happen to me again if I'm going to be out here hopefully at least 10 more years.”