Coco Gauff's hopes of clinching her first title since the United Cup suffered a significant setback as she faced an early exit at the Miami Open. On March 24, 2025, the young American player, who holds a world ranking of three, experienced a 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Magda Linette of Poland, who came into the match unseeded.
The 21-year-old had entered the tournament with high expectations, especially after impressive performances that included a rout of Sofia Kenin without losing a single game, followed by a victory over Maria Sakkari. Many were eager to see Gauff carry her momentum into Miami, where she hoped to perform well in front of family and friends. However, Linette had other plans.
Gauff’s performance against Linette showcased significant challenges. She struggled with her serve throughout the match, committing a staggering twelve double faults, which proved disastrous at critical moments. She was broken four times by Linette, leading to Gauff's increasingly frustrated demeanor on the court. "It wasn’t great today and it hasn’t been for the last two weeks so I’m just trying to figure that out,’’ Gauff reflected post-match, expressing her disappointment.
Despite winning an impressive 73% of her first serve points, Gauff only managed to successfully land 51% of them, highlighting a troubling inconsistency during crucial points of the match. Although she briefly seemed back in control during the second set, evening the score at 3-3 and subsequently taking a 4-3 lead with consecutive aces, Linette's aggressive play ultimately proved too much.
Linette, at 33 years old, not only managed to secure her first win over a top-three player since 2021 but also made history herself. This victory marks her first WTA 1000 win against a top-five opponent and makes her the second-oldest player since 2009 to achieve this feat. Furthermore, her win places her among the third-oldest women in this century to advance to the Miami Open quarterfinals for the first time, joining the ranks of Mirjana Lucic and Hsieh Su-wei.
After the match, Linette praised her strategy: "It was really important for me to keep pressing Coco’s serve; make sure she feels the pressure. I was returning well and was really brave. I was able to back it up with solid service games." Linette’s tactical approach was evident, as she demonstrated a high first serve percentage of 63%, winning 66% of points on her serve.
The disappointment extended beyond Gauff, as fellow Americans also struggled on the same day. Defending champion Danielle Collins fell to top seed Aryna Sabalenka with a score of 6-4, 6-4, while Amanda Anisimova was defeated by unseeded Brit Emma Raducanu, 6-1, 6-3. Ashlyn Krueger also faced elimination, being taken down 6-2, 7-6(3) by China’s Qinwen Zheng. Jessica Pegula emerged as the only American remaining in the tournament, following her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.
Looking ahead, Pegula is set to face Raducanu in the quarterfinals. "That’s a bummer there’s not any more of us left, especially being in the U.S.,’’ she stated, acknowledging the significance of representing American players in front of local fans. “I’m happy to carry the flag to the next day, into the next round and hopefully I can represent the best I can for the rest of the tournament.”
Gauff's early exit from her home tournament adds to a concerning trend. Over her six appearances at the Miami Open, she has yet to move beyond the fourth round. Among those defeats, she has lost to some of the biggest names in the sport; the last two years saw losses to Caroline Garcia in 2024 and Anastasia Potapova in 2023. During the match with Linette, Gauff's performance problems resurfaced, leaving her with mixed feelings ahead of the upcoming clay court season.
Clearly frustrated, Gauff said, "I’m trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it. Just one of those days when I felt awful in everything on the court.” As the tennis world looks forward to the clay season, Gauff is in need of finding the spark she had earlier this year as she bids to reclaim her competitive edge.
