Faurel: Gauff is going to be something special

The American is the perfect role model, an absorbing athlete, someone we have come to expect to rack up the sport’s top prizes year in, year out.

However, she’s still only 21 years old and is taking it all in her stride.

Gauff dispatched wild card breakout Lois Boisson 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday and was asked how the Frenchwoman might cope now she's in the spotlight.

“I guess my biggest advice is just to stay true to yourself, keep your people around you, what they expect from you,” the world No.2 answered. “Not what media expects from you or other outside analysts expect for you.”

Rewind to Wimbledon 2019 and a 15-year-old Gauff defeated one of her idols, Venus Williams. In the period since, Gauff has charted a course towards a Hall of Fame-worthy career as a US Open champion, and awaits her third major singles final on Saturday.

Part of becoming an all-time great is battling through adversity and rebounding from heartbreaking defeats, such as falling to the clay court prowess of Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-3 in the RG 2022 final. As ever, Gauff offers up a mature and thought-through assessment.

“I think just realising how minuscule it is. Like everybody is dealing with way bigger things in life than losing a final,” she said.

“I'm sure there are hundreds of players that would kill to win or lose a final, so just knowing that, making me realise how lucky and privileged I am to be in this position. At first I thought it would be the end of the world if I lost, the sun still rose the next day. So knowing, regardless of the result, the sun will still rise.”

Jean-Christophe Faurel, who initially worked with Gauff from March 2019, three months before her global breakthrough at Wimbledon, returned to coaching the American last spring.

“Six years! Back then, she was a little girl. Overall, she’s exactly the same,” the former world No.140 said. “A very simple, very kind young woman. From the very beginning, I’ve had a clear vision of what her game should be. We’re not there yet. It will still take time, but once everything comes together, it’s going to be something special.”

Faurel, in partnership with secondary coach Matt Daly, continues to be taken aback by Gauff’s maturity and champion mentality.

“Coco is still a very young player. She’s been around so long that people sometimes think she’s 35. But she’s barely 21,” Faurel said. “There’s still so much to develop - in her game, in how she manages matches.

“We’re working on a lot of areas, but when you focus on a specific aspect, you sometimes let others slip, and that can cause a bit of confusion.

“She's not a machine. It’s also partly our fault - there were moments when we probably didn’t do the right things. She lost her way a bit. We had a lot of discussions after the Miami Masters. We laid a lot of things out in the open regarding her style of play, some small details that lacked clarity.”

Gauff has recaptured her finest form on the clay in 2025, reaching the final in Madrid, Rome and now Paris.

“Now everything is clear in her mind, and that’s why she’s winning a lot of matches. But none of them are easy. In Madrid and Rome, she lost the first set in her opening match. She could have gone out early and people would have said again, ‘Coco can’t win a match,’” Faurel added.

“One of her greatest strengths is her mentality. She never gives up. She often makes the difference thanks to her strength of character.

“I’m always impressed by how much she can handle emotionally in certain matches. She impresses me every day.”

Heading into Saturday’s blockbuster, Sabalenka and Gauff are locked at 5-5 in previous clashes. It was the world No.1 who prevailed 6-3, 7-6(3) last month in the Madrid final.

Sabalenka has been the most dominant force on the WTA tour for the past couple of years. Gauff just needs to be the dominant force for two to three hours – just like her US Open 2023 final triumph over Sabalenka.

“I think the past experience that I've played her, we had some up-and-down matches, we had some that I won straight sets and her vice versa,” said Gauff.

“Anything can happen on Saturday. But I'm looking forward to it, and glad to be going up against a world No.1 too.”