Coco Gauff endured a tough start to her 2026 season.
After failing to defend the United Cup title with Team USA, Gauff lost to Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
To make matters worse, Gauff was caught smashing her racket backstage afterwards.
Do players need to be given more privacy at the Australian Open?
Looking to move on from the incident, Gauff will return to action at the Qatar Open.
The American enters the tournament as the number-four seed, and will certainly fancy her chances when she sees the draw…
Coco Gauff can ease into the Qatar Open with solid draw
Gauff can have no complaints about her Qatar Open draw.
The 21-year-old won’t meet a top-10 player until the semifinals.
McCartney Kessler, Liudmila Samsonova, and Ekaterina Alexandrova are no pushovers, but Gauff will be expected to reach the last four without too much trouble.
Coco Gauff’s Qatar Open draw
| Round | Highest-ranked potential opponent | Potential seeded opponents |
| 2R | McCartney Kessler (32) | – |
| 3R | Liudumila Samsonova (18) | [13] Liudmila Samsonova |
| QF | Ekaterina Alexandrova (11) | [8] Ekaterina Alexandrova, [11] Clara Tauson |
| SF | Elena Rybakina (3) | [2] Elena Rybakina, [5] Mirra Andreeva, [10] Victoria Mboko, [15] Diana Shnaider |
| F | Iga Swiatek (2) | [1] Iga Swiatek, [3] Amanda Anisimova, [6] Jasmine Paolini, [7] Elina Svitolina, [9] Linda Noskova, [12] Emma Navarro, [14] Karolina Muchova, [16] Elise Mertens |
Admittedly, her task becomes a lot more difficult from there on.
She could play Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina in the semis, who has arguably been the best player in women’s tennis since late last year.
Then, if Gauff were to make it past Rybakina, she might face the number-one seed, Iga Swiatek, or the number-three seed, Amanda Anisimova, in the final.
Who will win the 2026 Qatar Open?
It’s not unfair to suggest that Gauff would enter both matches as the underdog.
While several top players stand between Gauff and the Qatar Open title, her chances of winning improved drastically when the following names dropped out.
Qatar Open withdrawals
- Aryna Sabalenka – replaced by Emiliana Arango
- Jessica Pegula – replaced by Daria Kasatkina
- Madison Keys – replaced by Laura Siegemund
- Belinda Bencic – replaced by Magda Linette
- Naomi Osaka – replaced by Xinyu Wang
- Iva Jovic – replaced by Katerina Siniakova
- Marketa Vondrousova – replaced by Maria Sakkari
- Eva Lys – replaced by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
- Lois Boisson – replaced by Cristina Bucsa
- Marta Kostyuk – replaced by Marie Bouzkova
- Veronika Kudermetova – replaced by Alexandra Eala
Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, and Naomi Osaka will all miss the first WTA 1000 tournament of the 2026 season.
Having lost to all three players last year, hearing that news may have been a relief for Gauff.
It’s impossible to know how well Gauff will perform in Doha, but with so many big names skipping the event, she may not get many better chances to add to her WTA 1000 tally this year.
How many WTA 1000 titles has Coco Gauff won?
Gauff is a three-time WTA 1000 champion.
- 2023 Cincinnati Open
- 2024 China Open
- 2025 Wuhan Open
The American has won one title a year since 2023.
She has yet to find her best tennis in Doha, though, and the Qatar Open is statistically her worst WTA 1000 event.
Coco Gauff’s WTA 1000 record
| WTA 1000 | Best performance | 2025 performance | Win/Loss record | Win % |
| Qatar Open | QF – 2022 | 2R | 3-3 | 50% |
| Dubai Tennis Championships | SF – 2023 | 2R | 7-4 | 64% |
| Indian Wells | SF – 2024 | 4R | 11-5 | 69% |
| Miami Open | 4R – 2022, 2024, 2025 | 4R | 8-6 | 57% |
| Madrid Open | F – 2025 | F | 10-5 | 67% |
| Italian Open | F – 2025 | F | 17-6 | 74% |
| Canadian Open | QF – 2021, 2022, 2023 | 4R | 10-5 | 67% |
| Cincinnati Open | W – 2023 | QF | 9-5 | 64% |
| China Open | W – 2024 | SF | 14-2 | 88% |
| Wuhan Open | W – 2025 | W | 8-1 | 89% |
Gauff has only won 50% of the matches she’s played at the WTA 1000 Qatar Open.
She’s lost her last three matches in Doha, too.
- 2023 Qatar Open QF [LOSS] vs Veronika Kudermetova
- 2024 Qatar Open 2R [LOSS] vs Katerina Siniakova
- 2025 Qatar Open 2R [LOSS] vs Marta Kostyuk
Only time will tell if she can break that losing streak in 2026.
The 2026 Qatar Open begins on Monday, February 9.
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