Sports
Why Coco Gauff is so tough to face – told by those who have
First, some numbers.
Coco Gauff is 34-4 since she got a tough draw at Wimbledon and lost in the first round to 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
She had a 16-match win streak from the middle of August to early October.
She is undefeated in 2024, a perfect 10-0, winning 20 of 22 sets.
She played her worst match in aeons in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open on Tuesday against Marta Kostyuk, double-faulting nine times and allowing Kostyuk to break her serve seven times. And she still won.
All of this qualifies Gauff as “tough to beat”.
She is one the biggest stars in women’s tennis and arguably its best athlete. She grew up in Florida playing basketball and running track. Her father had her tossing footballs to build up her shoulder strength. She does not quit.
But why? What makes solving Gauff so difficult? What are her superpowers?
We asked some of the people who know best and Gauff herself.
The movement
There is a saying in tennis that strokes can be erratic but legs never go into a slump. Gauff certainly has that going for her. Her forehand can be unreliable. Her serve is prone to shakiness. She’s still a teenager. But she is the Energizer Bunny of women’s tennis.
“She’s moving really well,” says world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who has a 2-4 record against Gauff. “Everything you do on court, it’s coming back. You need to build the point, probably a couple of times in one point, to have that, not easy shot, but, yeah, easy shot, to finish the point.”
Gauff outlasts opponents often in rallies (Yanshan Zhang/Getty Images)
Laura Robson, the former pro and now television commentator, calls Gauff the best mover in women’s tennis.
“She’s so explosive,” Robson says.
Gauff doesn’t disagree.
Asked for a list of her strengths, this is how she started: “Definitely my movement.”
With a powerful serve and a solid return, Gauff has won 60 percent of the points at this tournament that last less than five shots, but as a point goes on and becomes a running race, her drop-off isn’t all that steep despite that shaky forehand. She wins 56 percent of those between five and eight shots, and 54 percent when the point lasts more than nine shots.
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The serve
Gauff has the fastest serve in this tournament so far, at 123.7mph (199kmh). She said she didn’t realize how hard she served until she started on the tour at 15 and saw the speed clock on the scoreboard hitting the 120s. Other women didn’t do that. She was impressed.
“When my serve is on, I think my serve is a big weapon for me,” she says.
Gauff hits one of her big serves in Melbourne (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
When it’s working, the serve is hard and deep. Kostyuk calls Gauff’s serve “tricky”.
“Great serve,” the world No 50 Linda Noskova, who is 0-2 against Gauff, answers immediately when asked about her strengths.
The return
This may be one of the more overlooked parts of Gauff’s game.
A student of the sport always on the lookout for an edge, Gauff has spent a lot of time watching videos of Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest returner ever. She said she has tried to emulate his shorter return stroke and use the power of her opponents’ serves against them, rather than generating power on her own.
That is what she did for years as a junior, stepping into the court and ripping. Over the years, she’s learned that isn’t necessary or effective against better serves from grown women.
Better get your first serve in against her — otherwise, she wins 64 percent of the points.
Gauff hits a return against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk (William West/AFP via Getty Images)
Storm Hunter, one of the top doubles players, says playing that version of tennis — Gauff is a two-time Grand Slam doubles finalist — has likely helped her return immensely.
In doubles, Hunter says, “You have to be really specific with your serve and return and you have to kind of make some decisions more: more tactical decisions, changing down the line or lob crossing.”
The backhand
Gauff would hit backhands all day if she could. She can fire it down the line or crosscourt. She can float it softly to thread a needle or whip it running into the court after a dying drop shot.
“Backhand, obviously, is her strength,” Kostyuk says. “It’s good. It’s really good. She’s not missing much from the backhand. And you really need to pick a shot. You really need to pick which shot you’re going to play there because it has to be sharp and it has to be different.”
At the net
Gauff 1.0 was not a great net player. Her hands lacked a softness and she didn’t have the surety she does now.
Kostyuk says Gauff gets so close to the net and with her long arms, she can be hard to pass. Lobs can work, but she can use her speed and her engine to chase those down.
Gauff has improved her volleying (George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Again, Hunter says, doubles has likely helped.
“She sees the ball very early and takes balls out of the air and puts them away,” she says. “It makes it very difficult. She has a lot of courage, especially, because, she’s young, but she’s confident.”
The fighter
There are no real metrics for mental strength, but you know it when you see it; or, in Gauff’s case, when you feel it.
“That’s gotten me through a lot of matches,” she says. “I feel like, mentally, I’m one of the strongest out there and I try my best to reset after each point.”
Casey Dellacqua, the Australian commentator and 2011 French Open mixed doubles champion, backs that thinking, saying it is what makes the difference for Gauff.
“It’s her competitiveness, her composure and her refusal to leave the court,” she says. “We saw that in the quarterfinals, even when she wasn’t playing that well. When you’re a Grand Slam champion, you have that X factor. She has that.”
(Top photo: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.
Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.
Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.
“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”
It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.
Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.
“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”
UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.
“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”
UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.
USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”
Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.
“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”
Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.
“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”
Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.
“Yes.”
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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.
The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”
“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.
“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”
A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.
Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.
Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.
Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.
On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.
The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.
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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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