MELBOURNE, Australia — There’s a young woman who looks a lot like Coco Gauff at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open. She has the same fiery, competitive eyes, the same tendency to break out in a giggle in the middle of a sentence and the same number of titles.

In a match slated for Saturday, Sofia Kenin (No. 81 in rankings) will face Coco Gauff (No. 3) in the Round of 128 at the Australian Open.Gauff’s last competition was a win, 7-5, 6-2, over

Coco Gauff has made improvements to her serving and her forehand. And the strides in both of those areas are among the reasons she's considered one of the few women ready to challenge two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at the Australian Open.

World No.3 Coco Gauff, one of the most in-form players ahead of the Australian Open, says she's feeling no pressure ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025.

Coco Gauff plays Sofia Kenin in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open. Our Australian Open odds series has our Gauff-Kenin prediction, odds and pick. Find out how to watch Gauff-Kenin. There are some hugely interesting first-round matches at the 2025 Australian Open.

Given everything she has already achieved in her fledgling career – and the weight of expectation she has borne as one of tennis’ rising superstars – it’s sometimes easy to forget that Coco Gauff is still only 20 years old.

After a disappointing US Open, Coco Gauff made changes to her game and her coaching staff. The results have been undeniable.