The American could rise to No.2 after the Madrid final. She doesn’t really care. 
When it comes to rankings, only one number matters to Coco Gauff: No.1.
After her 6-1, 6-1 victory over Iga Swiatek on Thursday in Madrid, Gauff told reporters that she’s not concerned at all about what ranking she will hold after the Madrid final.
“I’m going to be honest, it’s not important to me, honestly,” Gauff said, adding: “The only number that would mean a lot to me is 1 at this point. Anything anywhere else is just, it’s just a number. Oviously it’s a reward for the work that I’m doing and the consistency that I’m showing, but it’s not something that I think about or have a goal to reach.”
For those that do care about such things, Gauff can pass Swiatek in the rankings if she defeats Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s Madrid final.
Coco #Gauff in action on #clay is one of the best photo ops in #tennis#getty pic.twitter.com/4Iaw7ILqiA
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) May 1, 2025
Gauff has taken the power back from Swiatek of late. After losing the first seven matches of their rivalry, she has now won four of the last eight, and three in a row.
“I cannot believe we played each other this many times,” she said. “I’m 21 and I think she’s 23. We’re so young, and we both at least have, I would say, 10 more years in this game.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised if we… end up having the record for most times playing against each other ever in tennis history honestly at this point.”
In the past the American was a victim of her own nerves and expectations when facing Swiatek. These days she says she’s not overthinking things.
“I think in the past I almost dialed in too much where I just put so much pressure on myself,” she said. “Now I just feel like, whatever. It’s like, if I win, great, I get another win on the board of that head-to-head, and if I lose it’s just another loss.
“I just try to make sure that when I play her, if I lose, it’s because she won the match and not because I lost the match myself.”