What Iga Swiatek said she hoped would happen to Coco Gauff before they met in the French Open final of 2022

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Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff have both had pretty memorable seasons on the WTA Tour in 2025.

Swiatek claimed her first Wimbledon crown with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Amanda Anisimova, with Gauff winning the French Open for her second Grand Slam title just weeks before.

Gauff has been criticised for her serve at various parts of the year, and with 431 double faults coming from her racket in 2025, there is something to work on there.

Swiatek has also been criticised at a number of points – most notably for the way in which she typically heads off the court for an extended rest after a set in which she’s lost.

The pair, however, are firmly part of the future of the women’s game of tennis, and Swiatek had some very kind words for Gauff in 2022.

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What Iga Swiatek said about Coco Gauff in 2022

In 2022, Swiatek faced Gauff in the French Open final, with the Polish performer coming through to win the title that she’s claimed on several occasions in her career.

Swiatek was full of praise for Gauff ahead of the final, though and admitted what she hoped would happen in the years to come between the two players.

She told the BBC website: “I like watching Coco Gauff – my opponent in the Roland Garros final on Saturday – and maybe this will become a special rivalry for years to come.

“I feel like she’s been on tour longer than me, and she’s only 18. Coco has great potential, and I hope she will keep improving. I think this tournament has shown she is on the right path.

“I remember Coco winning the French Open juniors in 2018 when I really wanted to win. I didn’t play against her, though, because I lost to Caty McNally in the semi-finals.

“But when Coco won – she was only 14 – I was like ‘great, I worked so hard and a girl three years younger than me is winning junior Grand Slams’!

“It was tough for teenage me to take, but I’ve progressed well since. When I got to meet her more on the WTA Tour, I could see she was staying on a really good level and she deserves her success.

“We don’t talk to each other loads when we’re at tournaments, just because we’re both kind of shy! It is pretty hard for introverted people to bond but I really like her.

“I feel she is really humble and focused on the job. It seems like she is having fun and has good people around her.”

Swiatek vs Gauff head-to-head

Despite hoping that the two players would have a healthy rivalry, the two players have only actually met on three occasions in Grand Slams and they all came at the French Open.

Swiatek is largely formidable at that event and it’s certainly a Grand Slam that she goes into confident that she can claim success and take home the title.

Perhaps the two players will have better joy when it comes to meeting each other in 2026, and as established top 10 players, the pair should find paths crossing in the future.

Gauff is younger than Swiatek, and she will hope that by the time she’s 24, she will have the six Grand Slam titles that the world number two currently boasts.