Coco Gauff reveals goals for her 20s and what tournaments she wants to win most after making Indian Wells quarters

Coco Gauff celebrated turning 20 in style.

So routine was her 6-0 6-2 win over Elise Mertens in the last 16 of Indian Wells that she spoke only very briefly about her performance in her post-match press conference.

“Finally got a win on my birthday, which is great. Yeah, I have nothing to say about the match. It was pretty straightforward, and hopefully, I can continue the good tennis,” was all Gauff had to say about the contest.

Then it was onto questions about goals for her 20s, what’s ahead in her tennis career, and what tournaments she wants to win most.

Gauff enters her 20s ranked at No. 3 in the world, as a Grand Slam champion, and a seven-time title winner on the WTA Tour.

After several years of making steady steps forward following her Wimbledon breakthrough at the age of 15, Gauff is now firmly ensconced at the top of the game.

So what does she hope to achieve in the next decade?

“I guess tennis goals, definitely to win some more Slams, and I want to medal at this Olympics or 2028. That would be cool,” she said.

“Then life goals, honestly, I haven't thought that far. Yeah, I mean, I'm not trying to do anything, I'm not trying to get married or anything. Definitely no kids. Just tennis right now and we'll see where life takes me off the court.”

Next up for Gauff in the Indian Wells quarter-finals is unseeded Yue Yuan, who beat 11th seed Daria Kasatkina in the last round to extend her winning run to nine matches.

Gauff is one of three top-20 players remaining in the draw along with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and world No. 9 Maria Sakkari, who is a potential semi-final opponent.

If Gauff does lift the trophy it would be the second-biggest title of her career so far after the US Open, and it’s also No. 2 on the list of non-Grand Slam tournaments she wants to win.

“It’s definitely one of the tournaments I want to win at least once in my career. Hopefully it can be now. I feel pretty good about my chances.

“Obviously Miami being a home tournament, that would be a dream to win, as well. Where does it rank? I don't know what the ranking is. Every Slam would be ranked before this. But I would say out of the 1000s, probably the second.

“I would say Miami is just going to be No. 1 just from being there, and I would say this is No. 2 out of the 1000s or any other tournament on tour. Yeah, I would say this is No. 2 besides the Slams.”

It was at Wimbledon in 2019 when Gauff first arrived on the scene, beating Venus Williams on her way to reaching the fourth round as a 15-year-old.

Five years later she is a leading star of the WTA Tour and one of the most famous sportspeople on the planet.

Asked how she reflects on her tennis success and her fame, Gauff said: “I definitely do recognise the uniqueness of it.

“It is a contrast of why me and also the work that I put in. Honestly I don't think it's solely because of work, because a lot of people work hard. Some people, I don't know, just - I'm lucky that I was born with a great athletic ability, which kind of helps me. I also was born with a worth ethic and learned how to work hard and can enjoy working hard.

“But yeah, it is sometimes, like, ‘why me?’ Because again, on tour, and even when I was playing like 25s and you just see girls are really working hard, it's not like they're not working hard but they just can't get it. Not that I say I have it all figured out, because I don't, but I am very blessed to be in the position I am in.

“I guess everything with off-court, that's definitely more the ‘why me’ part. Because winning was always something I just envisioned myself doing, just because that's just what every tennis player envisions. Definitely the off-court stuff when it comes to the covers and the attention from other celebrities or just people in general, it is kind of like, I don't know why people gravitate to me so much, but I definitely do appreciate it and it makes me feel loved and I hope I can make other people feel the same way.”

And how will Gauff be celebrating her 20th birthday?

“Just dinner tonight, which is normal, I think, because I do play tomorrow. I'm not a huge party, celebration person, so I don't have anything afterwards. I'll probably do maybe another dinner when I get home before Miami Open, just so my brothers can also celebrate it with me. I think just open presents and answer text messages, and yeah, that's it.”

Gauff plays Yuan in the quarter-finals on Thursday evening.

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