Coco Gauff has continued her superb form by storming past Sofia Kenin to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
Gauff has a tough Australian Open draw, which involved an opener against her compatriot and 2020 champion Kenin.
But WTA number three Gauff made light work of her opponent to clinch an 11th first round win in the last 12 Grand Slams.
She overcame Kenin 6-3, 6-3 after 80 minutes in Melbourne, with Briton Jodie Burrage now up next in round two.
The American is in formidable form on the court, having only just secured the MVP award at the 2025 United Cup.
Coco Gauff says the gap between women’s and men’s tennis is apparent with serving and ‘other factors’
She often partnered with ATP ace Taylor Fritz in mixed doubles along with her singles clashes, with the duo playing a key role as the USA lifted the trophy.
Her fellow WTA star Iga Swiatek edged out Casper Ruud in a thrilling rally during the competition, with Gauff now sharing her thoughts on her mixed doubles matches and the satisfaction of outcompeting male players.
“Yeah, it was super fun,” Gauff said in her Australian Open first round post-match press conference. “Playing the mixed, it was super fun.
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“Yeah, it is satisfying, but I guess it’s not like, as big of… people think online that it’s this big of a gap. I mean, it is obviously, but I have played baseline points with guys. Sometimes I win.
“Sometimes I played against Frances and won and a couple of times against him. Same against Chris. I practised with Taylor a couple of times at United Cup, and he was, like, oh, that was one of the best hits I’ve had.
“Honestly when we add serve and other factors into it, then the gap becomes apparent. When you are just doing cross-court rallies and volleying, it’s kind of like not that big of a difference in mixed doubles in that kind of format. Obviously if you play a full match, then yeah.
“It was fun and satisfying. For me the most satisfying honestly was when I was playing Felix, and he was rocketing forehands at me, and I was volleying them back. I don’t know, I just felt good.
“I don’t think a lot of the guys know that I was a good doubles player at one point in my career. So I can volley the ball back. Yeah, that was kind of the game plan.
“All the guys were just trying to hit as hard as they could to the girl, but honestly I think some of us were volleying better than the guys. I for sure was volleying better than Taylor, but he definitely was serving better than me.”
Coco Gauff wins all seven United Cup matches to clinch MVP award
There is, of course, a much wider issue at large in relation to Gauff’s comments, with the debate of equal pay certain to be raised once more at the Australian Open.
Notably, the WTA stars continue to play best of three set matches at Grand Slam level, with the ATP stars playing best of five.
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But the women and men do have their own exclusive tournaments, with the former competing in the likes of the Billie Jean King.
The latter meanwhile take part in the likes of the Davis Cup and Laver Cup, with competitions such as the United Cup and World Tennis League allowing for both.
Gauff remarkably won all seven of her matches, with the success including doubles wins that involved ATP players Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ivan Dodig.
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