United Cup 2025: Coco Gauff Hints at Redemption With Taylor Fritz Despite Olympics Heartbreak

Coco Gauff is starting her new season in style—Down Under! After an incredible 2024 season that ended with her winning the WTA Finals, Gauff is now gearing up for the United Cup, which kicks off on December 27. And she’s wasting no time. As soon as she landed in Perth, Gauff hit the practice courts at the RAC Arena, teaming up with her mixed doubles partner, Taylor Fritz. The American duo will be seen for their second outing together after their nail-biter at the Paris Olympics. Gauff wants to “mesh well” this time!

On Wednesday, Gauff found time to sit down with the crew of ‘The Tennis‘ podcast and spill the beans on everything from teaming up with Fritz to what makes the United Cup such a special event. Joining hosts Jon Hoevernaars and Brie Stewart were tennis legends, Sam Stosur and Todd Woodbridge, who previewed the season and revealed their break-out player predictions (Mirra Andreeva, Holger Rune, Flavio Cobolli and Joao Fonseca), their dream Australian Open final match-ups (Aryna Sabalenka v Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner v Carlos Alcaraz, Gauff v Iga Swiatek, and Nick Kyrgios v Carlos Alcaraz), and what they’d like to see more of in 2025. Gauff, of course, added her own flair!

When asked by Stewart about her partnership with Taylor, Gauff said, “I think I just learned a little bit more about his game and his style of play. I definitely think we’ll hopefully be better on a hard court than we were definitely on clay. I’ve learned a lot about how he likes to play mixed doubles. It’s a little bit different than how I like to play, but hopefully, we can mesh well. So, we’ll also have more time to prepare this time, considering the Olympics were so fast, but now we’ll have time to consider and plan better, which is really important in the United Cup format.”

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Remember Gauff and ‘Claylor”s partnership at the 2024 Paris Olympics? There they had a tough Quarterfinals match against Canada’s Gabby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime, losing 7-6 (2), 3-6, 10-8. But the 20-year-old is optimistic about improving their dynamic on hard courts this time. More so to make her debut at the event.!

via Imago

Image Credits: Imago

As the conversation shifted, the American tennis player described how special the United Cup is to her. “It means a lot to me. The United Cup is such a unique event. There’s really nothing else like it in tennis—or in any other sport, honestly. It’s amazing to see men’s and women’s sports competing on an equal scale. I think that’s something really exciting, and it can appeal not just to tennis fans but also to those who don’t follow the sport,” she said.

And for Gauff, who had the honor of being the U.S. flag bearer at the Paris Olympics, representing her country, holds a special place in her heart. At just 20 years old, she became the first tennis player to carry the U.S. flag at an Olympic opening or closing ceremony. She shared the honor with NBA legend LeBron James, making it a moment to remember.

But it’s not all work and no play for the 2023 US Open Champion this holiday season. The young star celebrated Christmas in Australia before diving into her training.

Coco Gauff spreads the holiday cheer in Australia

Before resuming her intense training routine, Coco Gauff started off her holiday season by celebrating Christmas in Australia with her family. The American player shared glimpses of her celebration with her Instagram followers. She gave them a sneak peek into her holiday fun on December 24th and wished everyone a ‘merry Christmas eve’.

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In the story she could be seen visiting an amusement park, where she seemed to enjoy the thrilling rides and attractions. The festive mood was further lifted by a beautiful fireworks display that lit up the Australian sky, adding a magical touch to the occasion.

Her dad, Corey Gauff, also joined in on the festive spirit by sharing a heartwarming family photo of their Christmas celebration Down Under. They made the most of their time together before Gauff focuses all her energy to bring Team USA to victory.

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The WTA Finals champion will be skip defending her Aukland Open title and directly arrive at the Australian Open after the United Cup as she hopes to clinch her second Grand Slam title. For now, all eyes are on whether Gauff and Taylor Fritz can find their rhythm together as a team and bring home a victory for Team USA. What do you think?

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