Sometimes, grit and composure bring you a win, despite the odds. And that’s what happened to Coco Gauff.

The Middle East run hasn’t been smooth. But the 3x Grand Slam Champion made it into the last 16 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

On February 17, Gauff beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-4. But as per the winner, it was not a perfect win. After the game, Gauff was asked about the deciding factor in the game, considering she lost to Kalinskaya back in 2024. Gauff replied with:

“Anna's a tough opponent. She's beaten some quality players; she beat me here a couple of years ago. I'm happy with how today went... Just trying to be more positive. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it was enough today... It was pretty windy. I was just trying to adjust… Just trying to find form again, which is tough.”

Kalinskaya led the first set by 2-0 and 3-1 in the second, but had to take a medical timeout. She racked up 45 unforced errors to only 11 winners. At the same time, Gauff committed 12 double faults among her own 33 unforced errors.

But she picked up momentum in defensive play soon after. And the win finally served as a “confident boost” after the Doha and Australia heartbreaks. Because to her, “Winning when you're not playing your best” is the proudest part.

What Is Next for Coco Gauff?

Gauff will proceed to face 2021 semi-finalist Elise Mertens next. Mertens had an outstanding 6-2, 6-2 victory against the no. 14 seed Emma Navarro previously.

Meanwhile, the American has not seen much success in her Middle East swing. When asked why so many players struggle in Dubai and Doha, she said at the press conference that adapting to the climate remains an issue.

“I think the biggest struggle is obviously you’re in Australia for, like, a month. Some people even more. You want to go home. You go home”, she said. “You basically have to leave and come back here and get adjusted all over again.

It’s tough to outline what her next match will look like. What do you think about it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar