Coco Gauff, after a turbulent beginning to her season, arrives in Miami, her “home court,” with a burning desire to rediscover her winning rhythm. Though her record this season stands at 6-5, and she’s yet to advance beyond the fourth round in this tournament, she’s focused on dominating at the Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the NFL team, Miami Dolphins. Beyond her tennis aspirations, however, Gauff has been playfully exploring her creative side, transitioning from designing her ideal “Tennis Paradise” at the BNP Paribas Open to now, with a whimsical twist, curating her own “WTA Love Island” lineup. The question on everyone’s mind: who made the cut for her fantasy island escape?
One of Instagram’s popular pages, “Overtime Tennis,” recently dropped an exciting clip featuring its host and Coco Gauff in a lighthearted conversation. The host asked Coco, “If you could build your own Love Island using WTA players, who would be on it?”
“Probably Paula Badosa, because she is a fun girl. Aryna, she has a great personality. I’ll put me in there for like the fun for sure. I’m gonna go with Jasmine Paolini just because she has a lot of energy. Danielle Collins, I feel like could create a good storyline. And we need somebody that’s pretty chill. I’ll go with Jess (Jessica Pegula),” Coco said with a playful grin.
For those unfamiliar with the term, “Love Island” is a hit reality series where contestants compete in various tasks with different partners, switching pairings until they (hopefully) “find the love” of their life. Sounds like a tennis-themed paradise, isn’t it?
Coco Gauff’s new year has been a rollercoaster ride. After starting the year on a high with a United Cup victory with Team USA, she has struggled to maintain the spark from her WTA Finals triumph at the end of 2024. Early exits have plagued her campaign, including a QF loss to Paula Badosa at the Australian Open, followed by setbacks against Marta Kostyuk in the Qatar Open and McCartney Kessler in the Dubai Tennis Championships. At Indian Wells, although she showed glimpses of brilliance, but ultimately fell in the R16 to Abu Dhabi champion Belinda Bencic. Now in Miami for the 2nd leg of the Sunshine Double, she is ready to reclaim her dominance on home soil.
The third seed has had a whirlwind March, celebrating both her 21st birthday on March 13 and the launch of her latest signature sneaker with NB. While retaining the high-performance DNA of her “Coco CG2”, the newly introduced “Coco Delray” is crafted for both casual play and off-court wear. A powerful campaign featuring narration from her grandmother accompanied the launch Yvonne Lee Odom, a historic figure who was the “first Black student” to integrate Delray Beach public schools.
Moreover, amid her packed schedule, Gauff also reflected on the relentless nature of professional tennis, calling it a “crazy sport” because of its demanding travel and non-stop tournaments.
Coco Gauff opens up about the hectic schedule of tennis
It’s only the third month of the year, and Coco Gauff has already competed in five events, including the United Cup. Last season was just as demanding, with the third seed playing 19 tournaments, including the 2024 Paris Olympics as well, while capturing three titles. Coco fought through 71 matches, finishing with an impressive 76% win rate (54-17), a testament to her relentless drive to reach the top spot. This year follows a similar trend.
Prior to setting foot in Miami on March 21st, Coco Gauff had already faced the demanding gauntlet of the Australian Open, the Middle East swing, and Indian Wells, accumulating ten matches. As she prepared for her Miami campaign, she openly addressed,
“It’s great to be back here. Like I said I love this tournament, home tournament and I guess tennis is like a crazy sport like you really ever have time to reflect because when you win, you’re already going to the next tournament. But, I guess something I need to probably sit down and do. Usually on my birthday’s I do that but I was a bit busy but overall I am very happy with my career I guess so far.”
With their rivalry evenly split at two wins apiece, the question looms: can Coco Gauff replicate her Australian Open victory against Sofia Kenin and launch a successful campaign at the Miami Open?
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