Coco Gauff could face a fellow Grand Slam champion in her first match at Indian Wells after the draw is made
Coco Gauff will be hoping for a change in fortunes after a disappointing Middle Eastern swing.
Gauff, who is the world number three, has struggled for form since reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The American first played in Doha, where Gauff lost her only match to Marta Kostyuk in straight sets.
Even more concerns were raised for the former US Open champion in the following tournament, with Gauff making unwanted history in Dubai.
Despite her recent misfortunes, Gauff is not the only player struggling, with Aryna Sabalenka also finding wins hard to come by.
Gauff will make her return at Indian Wells, but has been handed a difficult draw in her opening match of the tournament.
Coco Gauff could face Emma Raducanu in the second round of Indian Wells
As the third seed Gauff receives an automatic bye to the second round, where she will play the winner of the match between 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Moyuka Uchijima.
Raducanu, who is without a permanent coach at the moment, has previously enjoyed the conditions at Indian Wells and reached the last-16 at the WTA 1000 tournament in 2023.
Gauff made the semi-finals for the first time last year, but Indian Wells may have a different feel in 2025 after the tournament altered its surface.
If she is able to overcome Raducanu or Uchijima in her second round match, Gauff could play two-time Indian Wells finalist Maria Sakkari.
Things won’t get much easier for Gauff with potential meetings against the likes of Qatar Open champion Amanda Anisimova, Australian Open champion Madison Keys and world number one Sabalenka.
If Gauff is to reach the Indian Wells final for the first time in her career she could face defending champion Iga Swiatek.
| Indian Wells 2025 | Coco Gauff’s Potential Opponent |
| First Round | Receives a bye as the third seed |
| Second Round | Emma Raducanu/Moyuka Uchijima |
| Third Round | Maria Sakkari (29)/Olga Danilovic |
| Fourth Round | Diana Shnaider (13)/Amanda Anisimova (17)/Anna Kalinskaya |
| Quarter-final | Madison Keys/Emma Navarro (10)/Donna Vekic (19) |
| Semi-final | Aryna Sabalenka (1)/Jasmine Paolini (6)/Daria Kasatkina (12)/Beatriz Haddad Maia (16) |
| Final | Iga Swiatek (2)/Jessica Pegula (4)/ Elena Rybakina (7)/Qinwen Zheng (8) |
Has Coco Gauff played Emma Raducanu before?
Gauff and Raducanu have played on one previous occasion in a match that came in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open.
It was Gauff who came out on the winning side of the match on that occasion, beating Raducanu 6-3 7-6(4) on Rod Laver Arena.
When speaking about the match in her post-match press conference, Gauff was full of credit for Raducanu and admitted that she was not surprised by the level that her opponent showed against her.
“I wouldn’t say anything surprised me because I feel like I’ve watched enough of her play,” Gauff said at the time. “I knew how she was going to come out.
“I definitely was impressed – well I wouldn’t say ‘impressed’ – but I knew she’s like a Grand Slam champion. I knew she had it in her. But she raised her level a lot towards the end of the second set.
“It takes a lot of resilience I feel like to do that, especially in the big stages and the big matches. When you’re down a set and a break, it’s easy to throw in the towel. I think she did a good job of raising her level when she needed to. Just honestly, tiebreakers can go either way, and it went my way tonight.”
The Indian Wells main draw gets underway on Wednesday March 5, with second round matches taking place from Friday March 7.
