The American was the dominant figure through the summer hard-court swing, which culminated in a memorable victory at the US Open in the early part of September.
Twelve months later, Gauff and the WTA are back on the hard courts of North America – and arguably there is more pressure on her this time around.
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The 20-year-old faces the task of having to defend her ranking points from a year ago, with several key contenders waiting in the wings to potentially dislodge her.
Ahead of her return this week, we look at what she faces across the next month.
Last summer
Twelve months ago, Gauff provided a near-perfect response to an opening-round Wimbledon exit – by storming through the hard-court summer.
Then still a teenager, the American started her summer with victory at the WTA 500 event in Washington, easing past Maria Sakkari in the final.
That was followed by her first WTA 1000 triumph in Cincinnati, beating Iga Swiatek for the first time before downing Karolina Muchova in the final.
And, of course, her summer was bookended by her stunning run to a maiden major title.
Gauff beat Jelena Ostapenko and Muchova to reach the US Open final, where she rallied from a set down to defeat Aryna Sabalenka.
Those victories earned her over 3,000 ranking points, and now comes the hard work to try and defend as many as possible.
Current situation
Gauff has done a solid job of protecting her ranking, meaning there will be no huge disaster rankings-wise if she suffers early exits.
A title in Auckland and semi-finals at the Australian and French Opens have added a layer of safety, though the pressure is still on.
That is largely due to the volume of points she has to defend in Cincinnati and New York, and she has already lost her title points from Washington – choosing to play the Olympics rather than defend her title.
And behind her, there are a few chasers with fewer points to defend who could be primed to leapfrog her in the rankings.
Most notable is Sabalenka, who sits on 7,256 points – less than 500 points behind the American as things stand.
The world No 3 has fewer points to defend than Gauff but her US Open final run means there is still a chunk to protect, and she is still working her way into form after her shoulder injury.
World No 4 Elena Rybakina and No 5 Jasmine Paolini – one of the form players of the summer – are also in striking distance, though there is more of a cushion separating her from those two.
Coco Gauff’s rankings battle could be interesting this summer.
Coco Gauff’s rankings battle could be interesting this summer.
Early opportunity
There have multiple Olympic-fuelled withdrawals from the Canadian Open though, despite a busy week at Paris 2024, the US star has decided to play.
The field is depleted but Gauff is the top seed in Toronto and, though her form has been patchy in recent weeks, has a massive chance to get her hands on a second WTA 1000 title this week.
Gauff gained 190 points for reaching the last eight a year ago but could earn 1,000 points with victory, and must be considered one of the big favourites for the title.
Sabalenka is the second seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula is the third seed, though the likes of Swiatek, Rybakina, and Paolini have all withdrawn.
A strong week in Toronto would be the perfect platform for Gauff to push onto greater heights this summer.