Coco Gauff enjoyed another strong year in 2024 as she continued to climb the WTA rankings.
Having won her maiden Grand Slam title in 2023 at the US Open, Gauff struggled at points during the 2024 season.
Gauff lost in the US Open fourth round this year, a real low point for the young American as she failed to defend her title.
Photo by Fred Mullane/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Following the disappointment at Flushing Meadows, Gauff hired Matt Daly as her new coach, in place of the outgoing Brad Gilbert.
The change proved successful as Gauff won the China Open, her second career WTA 1000 trophy soon after.
Gauff then won the WTA Finals to round off the season, as she ended the year on a high, taking home one of the biggest titles of her career.
She has all the momentum going into 2025, and one American ATP star thinks she can go all the way to the top in the new year.
Chris Eubanks believes Coco Gauff will reach world number one in 2025
Speaking on the Tennis Channel Live podcast, former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Chris Eubanks revealed whether he thinks Gauff can reach world number one.
“We’ve seen so much greatness from her at such a young age, I think it’s safe to say that she will become world number one,” he said.
Eubanks went even bolder with his prediction, as he suggested she could do so next year.
“I think although it’s a big points deficit, I think she can do it next year,” said the American.
“Not just because of what I’ve seen from her at the end of last year at the WTA Finals, having to go through a gauntlet in order to take that title, but also look at history here.
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“Her highest ranking in 2021 was 19, 2022 was four in the world, highest ranking in 2023 was three in the world, highest ranking in 2024 was two in the world.
“It’s trending towards progress each and every year.
“This year was number two, there’s only one place to go from there.”
Eubank’s co-host Jason Goodall wasn’t quite so convinced, however, as he claims Gauff will find it tough to surpass Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
“In order for that to happen she’s going to have to win two, maybe even three [Majors],” he said.
“[Aryna] Sabalenka over the course of the last couple of seasons has been the most consistent performer at the Majors, [Iga] Swiatek we know dominates on the clay.
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“I think it’s going to be hard for Coco [Gauff] in the next year or two, I take the results at the tail-end of the season with a pinch of salt.
“I know she’s got a new coach, she’s made some tweaks to her grip on the serve, needs big improvements.
“She’s doing really well, she’s trending in the right direction, but I don’t see Coco becoming world number one for another couple of years.
“It would take something of a misstep from Swiatek and Sabalenka for her to have the opportunity to do so.”
Is Coco Gauff close to becoming world number one?
Eubanks and Goodall may disagree over Gauff’s 2025 number one chances, but just how realistic is it to expect her to overhaul Sabalenka and Swiatek in the new year.
She currently sits at world number three, and at a first glance it certainly looks like she has her work cut out to hunt them down.
RankNamePoints1Aryna Sabalenka9,4162Iga Swiatek8,2953Coco Gauff6,5304Jasmine Paolini5,3445Qinwen Zheng5,3406Elena Rybakina5,1717Jessica Pegula4,7058Emma Navarro3,5899Daria Kasatkina3,36810Barbora Krejcikova3,2142024 WTA year-end top ten rankings
The American currently trails Sabalenka by 2,886 points, but that gap could narrow dramatically depending on results at the Australian Open.
Sabalenka is defending 2,000 points from winning the title, whilst Gauff only defends 780 from her appearance in the last four.
It’s unlikely that Sabalenka and Swiatek would fall at the first hurdle in Melbourne, but if they were to do so and Gauff were to take home her second Major title, the gap would close to just under 500 points.
1 – Iga Swiatek – 8,1752 – Coco Gauff – 7,7503 – Aryna Sabalenka – 7,426
Of course, the chances of that happening are slim, but it just goes to show how quickly a ‘big’ lead in the rankings can evaporate.
However, if Gauff were to clinch top spot in 2025, it does seem more likely that she would do so near the end of the year, before she defends the majority of her points from the China Open and WTA Finals.
Only time will tell if Gauff can become number one in the new year, but she’ll be hoping to get off on the right foot at the Australian Open which begins on January 12.
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