Coco Gauff has now won 16 of her last 17 matches against lefties after victory over Eala in Dubai
Her last loss to a lefty came in 2024. Before that? 2021.
After saving three match points to survive Elise Mertens on Thursday, 2-6, 7-6 (9), 6-3, Coco Gauff rebounded in a big way at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday, beating Alexandra Eala in 67 minutes, 6-0, 6-2, to reach the semifinals of the WTA 1000 event.
“It was a bit better today,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I could have served a little bit better, but I made it in when it mattered.
“Alex is a tough competitor. Even when I was up I knew that she could come back at any given moment—I’ve seen her do it before.”
Gauff is now through to the semifinals in Dubai for the second time, and into the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event for the 13th time.
But there’s one more stat that jumps out after her victory over Eala: she’s now won 16 of her last 17 matches against left-handed players.
Gauff’s last loss to a lefty came to Diana Shnaider in Toronto in 2024, and for her last loss before that you have to go all the way back 2021, when she fell to Angelique Kerber in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
GAUFF VS LEFTIES SINCE START OF 2022: 16-1
- d. Kerber in '22 Rome 1st Rd, 6-1, 6-4
- d. Trevisan in '22 Roland Garros SFs, 6-3, 6-1
- d. Buzarnescu in '22 Wimbledon 2nd Rd, 6-2, 6-3
- d. Montgomery in '22 San Diego 1st Rd, 6-3, 6-3
- d. Trevisan in '22 Guadalajara 3rd Rd, 6-0, 6-3
- d. Pera in '23 Australian Open 2nd Rd, 6-3, 6-2
- d. Kvitova in '23 Doha 2nd Rd, 6-3, 7-6
- d. Pera in '23 Eastbourne 1st Rd, 6-3, 6-2
- d. Vondrousova in '23 Montreal 3rd Rd, 6-3, 6-0
- d. Vondrousova in '23 WTA Finals RR, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3
- d. Rus in '24 Madrid 2nd Rd, 6-0, 6-0
- l. to Shnaider in '24 Toronto 3rd Rd, 6-4, 6-1
- d. Fernandez in '25 United Cup RR, 6-3, 6-2
- d. Fernandez in '25 Australian Open 3rd Rd, 6-4, 6-2
- d. Fernandez in '25 Beijing 3rd Rd, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
- d. Danilovic in '26 Australian Open 2nd Rd, 6-2, 6-2
- d. Eala in '26 Dubai QFs, 6-0, 6-2
She's also 32-4 in sets during the above stretch.
The world No. 4 won't be playing any more lefties until at least Indian Wells, though, as the other three semifinalists in Dubai are all righties (Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Elina Svitolina).