A month away from the tour has not dulled Coco Gauff’s sense of humor. The American used her Instagram Stories to joke about a new training routine and pointed the finger at the player she believes inspired it. 

In the first clip she shared, Gauff is seen sprinting through a shadow drill with poles set up on the court. One is on the right side of the baseline, one is on the left side of the baseline, and there is a high one at the T. The idea is to strike a shadow forehand toward the right pole, recover to the center and hit a backhand, then finish with a jumping forehand to the high pole. Gauff added a caption, and she tagged Carlos Alcaraz. 

“the type of stuff my coach makes me do when i’m tryna be non chalant @carlitosalcarazz look what you have done smh (shaking my head).” 

Her message suggests that the routine mirrors Alcaraz’s footwork and shadow play while he was recovering from a wrist injury. He was out of the clay and grass season after withdrawing from Barcelona in April due to wrist tenosynovitis, but had made regular training videos prior to his return in August. 

The second story features a different drill and a clumsy moment. The first pole is positioned slightly behind the baseline, with a jumping backhand next to the service box and a pole next to it for forehand. Gauff clips a pole during the sequence, mutters an expletive, “F**kin h*ll,” and carries on after her coach helps her back up. She captioned the story: “never back down never give up😭.” 

The coach in conversation is Jean-Christophe Faurel, who first started working with her in 2019 and rejoined in April 2024. Her team even consists of biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan, who joined in August 2025 to help with her serve and technique, which can be a friend or foe on any given day for the American. 

The humor suggests she is enjoying the process, and that’s important especially after the week she had in Beijing.

Gauff eyes Indian Wells after month away from Tour

Coco Gauff is the world No. 5 and has qualified for the WTA Finals, which are taking place in Indian Wells from November 8-15 after the event was moved from Riyadh. It will be her fifth straight appearance, and her record there is mixed. She went out in the round-robin stage on her debut in 2022 and again in 2023. In 2024, she won the title. In 2025, she was knocked out in the round-robin stage again. 

Her one-month break came after a difficult week. The 22-year-old American lost 6-3, 6-3 to Elise Mertens in the fourth round of the China Open in Beijing on October 7, her first straight-sets defeat since February. Before that, after a disputed point and replay in her win over Sun Xinran, she received what she called an “insane” number of racist comments and messages. 

The WTA condemned the abuse. Hours after the loss, she withdrew from Wuhan, where she was the defending champion. “After a long year, my body needs some time to rest and recover.” 

She has not entered any other events in Asia and will go straight to the WTA Finals, followed by Team USA’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Hungary in November.

However, the season behind her gives her plenty of reasons for confidence. Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4 at Cincinnati in August to win her first title of 2026 and the 12th of her career. She had even reached the finals in Miami and Rome and the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she beat Pegula in the quarterfinals, and at the US Open, where she lost to Elena Rybakina. 

If the training clips are an indication, then she has been putting the time off to good use. A rested, well-drilled, and happy Gauff would be a serious threat in Indian Wells.