Coco Gauff Defends Iga Swiatek in Australian Open Press Conference

Coco Gauff supported Iga Swiatek in a press conference before the 2025 Australian Open.

Coco Gauff of Team USA is congratulated by Iga Swiatek of Team Poland after her victory in the women s singles finals match of the 2025 United Cup. / IMAGO / AAP

The rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff has largely been one-sided. However, Gauff has won their last two meetings, making it a more competitive matchup. Swiatek currently holds an 11-3 lead over Gauff in head-to-head singles matches.

Despite the fierce competition between two of the sport's greatest active players, Gauff is not letting it change her beliefs about Swiatek. Earlier today, Gauff was asked about Swiatek during a press conference at the Australian Open.

A reporter asked Gauff if she saw a drop in Swiatek's confidence level after what she's gone through after the doping case. Not only did Gauff deny a drop in Swiatek's confidence, but she defended her in the doping scandal.

Coco Gauff says she doesn’t believe Iga Swiatek intentionally doped

“You obviously have a very exciting rivalry with Iga. Lately you have been able to get some wins under your belt. Do you see a drop in her confidence level after what she's gone through after the doping case?”… pic.twitter.com/cO7RiJSpjX

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 10, 2025

Gauff said, "No. I mean, I wouldn't say she's dropped her confidence. For me, I don't know like her personally well, but just from the interactions that we've had, I definitely don't think anything she did was intentional. I feel like I don't think she was maybe -- I mean like I found out with the rest of the world. I don't think she is not confident in herself."

Gauff continued, "She's playing great tennis. The match we played, I just happened to be a little better that day, maybe won a few points. It could have easily went the other way. I think she's fine. I don't know her well enough to tell you if she feels some type of way about it."

Gauff concluded, "Yeah, I can just say from what I see, I think she's doing fine. She's still No. 2 in the world and playing amazing tennis. She's always going to play amazing tennis. So, yeah, I think she'll be fine."

DIGGING up Ws 🙌⛏️🇺🇲@CocoGauff defeats Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 to put Team USA on the brink of the title!#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/0SRUC7tngO

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) January 5, 2025

Due to her doping case, Swiatek quietly served a suspension during the Fall of 2024. She returned to action with a new coach for the WTA Finals, Davis Cup, and, most recently, the United Cup. However, the World No.2 has not been as dominant as she was before the scandal dominated tennis headlines.

Conversely, Gauff changed coaches and made other adjustments to her game last Fall while enjoying noticeable improvement. Gauff won the WTA Finals and clinched the United Cup MVP award. As luck would have it, Swiatek has a much easier path to the Australian Open finals than Gauff.

The 2025 Australian Open will take place from January 12-26. Swiatek and Gauff could potentially meet in the finals. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

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