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.

Hologic WTA Tour spans 51 tournaments across 26 countries and regions (not including WTA 125s), starting this month with five events in Australia and New Zealand prior to the Australian Open.

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.

The world No. 1 continued her remarkable streak in Australia, while injury retirements spoiled matches just a week into the season

Obviously, Carlos Alcaraz would love to prove us wrong, and if he can quickly regain some of the form and more of the mojo he seemed to lose last season (after only taking the French Open and Wimbledon titles),

The pair have a 3-3 head-to-head record but Gauff won both their meetings in 2024. Read more at straitstimes.com.

FILE - Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a forehand return to Zheng Qinwen of China during the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

Coco Gauff will begin her Australian Open campaign on a high next week, after riding a roller-coaster 2024 to claim her maiden WTA Finals title and deliver the United Cup to the Americans in pristine form.

19th seed Madison Keys of the United States has reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the fourth time in her career. She clinched a hard-fought win over sixth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan. The match lasted 1 hour and 49 minutes, ending with a scoreline of 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in favor of Keys.

Gauff added Matt Daly to a coaching team that already included Jean-Christophe Faurel. Since, Gauff has won 19 of 21 matches, including two victories over Iga Swiatek and one over Aryna Sabalenka. She captured titles at the China Open, the WTA Finals and then the United Cup team event to start this season.

There seemed a touch of destiny when Zheng Qinwen made the Australian Open final last year a decade after trailblazing compatriot Li Na hoisted the women's trophy.

American tennis star Coco Gauff said she feels confident going into the upcoming Australian Open after a bright start to the new season.