Coco Gauff on Rising WTA Stars & New Friendships on Tour | Doubles Partnership with Eala & Mboko
- 1 in doubles, is welcoming a new wave of young talent on the WTA tour, finding a sense of camaraderie that was previously lacking in her early career.
- Gauff’s experience as a teenage prodigy was, at times, isolating.
- This sense of isolation has begun to dissipate with the emergence of players like Victoria Mboko and Iva Jovic, who are within a similar age range.
Gauff Embraces New Era of WTA Competition, Finds Camaraderie with Rising Stars
– Coco Gauff, the former world No. 1 in doubles, is welcoming a new wave of young talent on the WTA tour, finding a sense of camaraderie that was previously lacking in her early career. The 21-year-old American has recently partnered with Alexandra Eala, achieving success together at the 2025 Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Gauff’s experience as a teenage prodigy was, at times, isolating. “It was very lonely for me, honestly,” Gauff confessed last month at the Australian Open. She explained that while she had friends, their tournament schedules often didn’t align, making it difficult to maintain those relationships. “I had a lot of friends, but we weren’t playing the same tournaments. It was tough to keep up with those relationships.”
This sense of isolation has begun to dissipate with the emergence of players like Victoria Mboko and Iva Jovic, who are within a similar age range. Gauff is only two to three years older than this new generation of rising stars, a dynamic she actively welcomes. “So, it’s great to have, like, more people of my age range doing better, so I can see them at tournaments more,” she said.
Gauff attributes a shift in her own experience to this changing landscape. “I felt like the last couple of years or maybe last two years on tour have been some of my happiest, even though maybe the tennis has been up and down just because you see more friendly faces in the locker room that you can actually be with.”
The blossoming partnership between Gauff and Eala highlights this new collaborative spirit. Their successful run at the 2025 Internazionali BNL d’Italia demonstrated their potential as a doubles team, and they are now looking ahead to future challenges.
At the 2026 WTA Doha tournament, Gauff has teamed up with Victoria Mboko. The unseeded duo will face a tough test in the first round against the No. 7 seeds, Cristina Bucșa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez. Mboko recently achieved a notable victory over Eala in Hong Kong, reportedly in a match described as a “comeback” win by wtatennis.com.
Alexandra Eala, also navigating the challenges of the professional tour, has spoken about her strategies for coping with difficult losses, particularly in the wake of Coco Gauff’s recent racket smash controversy. According to Tennishead, Eala focuses on maintaining perspective and learning from setbacks.
The partnership between Gauff and Mboko in Doha represents a continuation of Gauff’s embrace of this new era in women’s tennis, one characterized by increased camaraderie and a supportive environment among its rising stars. The tournament will offer a further glimpse into the dynamics of this evolving landscape as Gauff and Mboko compete against seasoned doubles players Bucșa and Melichar-Martinez.