Gauff reveals why she doesn't dare let her parents know about Gu Ailing: She's just too outstanding!

Gu Ailing is one of the freestyle skiers with the most medals in Winter Olympic history, and she is also an alumna of Auburn University and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Gauff recently shared a "hilarious comment" about Gu Ailing, stating that Gu is the kind of person she "wouldn't really want her parents to know about," and explained the reason during a press conference ahead of the Indian Wells tournament.

In an interview with reporters, the world No. 4 player praised Gu Ailing's eloquence and intelligence, saying, "Gu Ailing is someone I follow on Instagram, and we've interacted. I've never met her in person, but she speaks really well. Obviously, she is extremely smart."

When discussing Gu Ailing's completion of an MBA degree at Stanford University, Gauff jokingly remarked that her parents, especially her mother, are not only amazed by Gu's athletic success but also deeply impressed by her academic achievements. She added, "I feel like she's the kind of person you don't want your parents to discover, because she's so accomplished they'd ask you, 'So what are you doing?' I might say I can become a Grand Slam champion, and my mom would say, 'She also graduated from Stanford and has done all these things.'"

Gu Ailing won two gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, in the halfpipe and big air events. Earlier this year, she added another gold in the halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Additionally, she has won three Olympic silver medals.

Meanwhile, Gauff is aiming for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, hoping to win her first WTA tour title of the season. Gauff began her 2026 season at the United Cup, representing Team USA. The American team advanced to the semifinals but was ultimately eliminated by the eventual champions, Poland.

Subsequently, at the Australian Open held in Melbourne, Gauff reached the quarterfinals but displayed inconsistent performance at crucial moments, eventually losing to veteran WTA player Elina Svitolina and exiting the tournament. After the match, Gauff also stirred considerable controversy as cameras captured her angrily smashing her racket. Later, at the Qatar Open, she suffered an upset loss in the second round, defeated in straight sets by lucky loser Cocciaretto.

Recently, at the Dubai Tennis Championships, the 21-year-old player advanced to the semifinals but was once again defeated by Svitolina. However, Gauff has not ruled out the possibility of following some players in skipping the Middle Eastern season in the future.

A major topic during this year's Middle Eastern season has been the significant number of player withdrawals or mid-tournament pullouts. Just one week after the Australian Open concluded, Sabalenka, Pegula, Keys, Bencic, and Osaka were absent from the WTA 1000 event in Doha; Sabalenka, Keys, Bencic, and Osaka then also did not participate in Dubai; while Świątek played in Doha but chose to skip the season's second WTA 1000 tournament held in Dubai, UAE.

Gauff, however, did not choose this path, participating in both opening WTA 1000 events of the season. The American tennis star was not in ideal form in Doha, suffering an upset loss to Cocciaretto in her first match; in Dubai, the two-time Grand Slam champion improved her form and ultimately reached the semifinals.

During a pre-tournament press conference at the Indian Wells Masters, Gauff was asked about the absence of multiple star players from the Middle Eastern season and whether she might adopt a similar approach in the future. She stated, "I would definitely consider that possibility in the future. I think the situation in Dubai this time was more coincidental, with the tournament having some bad luck regarding injuries, withdrawals, etc. But it does highlight that the schedule might be a bit too packed at this stage of the season."(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)