Photo Source: Matthew Calvis.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday March 3, 2025
For as good as American women’s tennis has been over the years, it is a big surprise in many ways that an American woman has not won Indian Wells since 2001. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that the Williams Sisters boycotted the tournament for 14 years. Nevertheless, the stat is something that Coco Gauff would like to see change.
“Every year they love to remind us of that stat when we compete. We're all like, who's it going to be?” she told media on Tuesday at Indian Wells. “I was in the semis last year so I was hoping it would be me. Hopefully this year we can, and if it's not me I hopefully it's an American. I just feel like this is the biggest tournament we probably have outside of the US Open, and we have to somehow figure out how to bring the Cup home.” It seems like the time is ripe for an American woman to raise the Baccarat crystal in the desert, with four women inside the ATP’s Top-10 at the moment, and three inside the Top-5, the chances are getting better. But we must take into account the fact that Iga Swiatek has dominated the Indian Wells and compiled an 18-2 record that includes titles in 2022 and 2024.
Gauff would be a likely consideration, even though she enters the tournament on a three-match losing streak. She lost in her first round in Doha and Dubai, but says it’s nothing to be concerned about.
“Everybody makes a bigger deal what it is, I lost two matches,” she said. “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, I guess it feels like a month but it's just two tournaments, and with this calendar I have so many other opportunities.”
Gauff is 9-4 lifetime at Indian Wells. She reached the quarterfinals in 2023 and the semifinals last year. She will face either Emma Raducanu or Moyuka Uchijima in the second round after a bye.