The dreamy, warm conditions of Indian Wells are a world away from the winter many are still experiencing around the globe. 

And while Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek feature prominently indeed in Tennis Paradise, the duo kept an eye on the recently completed Winter Olympics in Italy and drew inspiration from Alysa Liu. 

Liu — a native of Clovis in northern California who shares a birthday with the legendary Roger Federer — became the first US woman to win individual gold in figure skating since Sarah Hughes in 2002. 

Few would have predicted it several years ago, since Liu initially retired at the age of 16 in 2022, growing tired of the day-to-day training routines. 

“I think her whole story was super inspiring, and I think I could highly relate as someone who was very young put into a sport,” said Gauff, formerly a teen phenom now aged 21. “I wouldn't say I have faced burnout, but there are times you're mentally just tired of it and you feel like you're doing stuff and you don't know why. 

“So I definitely could relate to her whole story. I was happy to see her be that voice saying the unsaid things that athletes think but are maybe scared to say.”

The Olympics run in Swiatek’s family. Her dad Tomasz competed in rowing at the 1988 Games. 

“I think overall what happened in figure skating was super interesting and from the psychological point of view,” said Swiatek. “I saw Liu winning when actually she had some troubles, like before she was burned out and she had to stop, and now (it) seems like everything she does (is) to have fun and to really show her amazing skills in a way that makes her happy. 

“It looks like that. I haven't spoken to her, so I'm not sure. But it's really inspiring. So I think this I will remember for a long time.” 

Both Gauff and Swiatek headed into Indian Wells having had similar seasons. The wins have come but given their pedigree — both are Slam winners — not as many as they would like. 

Gauff did, though, reach the semifinals in Dubai in her last tournament, edged by Elina Svitolina in a lengthy three hours. 

When they faced off in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, it was quite the opposite. Svitolina handed Gauff her quickest loss at a Grand Slam in 59 minutes.

A three-time champion in Doha right before Dubai, Swiatek lost from a set up to Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals before skipping Dubai. She instead had a training block in her native Poland. 

“The results haven't been what I would wish for, because most of the tournaments I lost somewhere around quarterfinals, so it would be great to improve that, but obviously it's tennis,” said Swiatek. “There are many factors coming in and influencing that.

“I think the last weeks I had in Warsaw when I withdrew from Dubai, I practiced really well and I improved some stuff.”

Being in Indian Wells, though, bodes well for Swiatek. She is a two-time champion and hasn’t exited before the semifinals since 2021. 

Gauff’s deepest foray came in 2024 with a semifinal showing. Last year, Gauff lost to a surging Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. 

“Really happy to be back here,” said Gauff. “So far, so good. The weather is great as usual, so yeah, I'm excited to go out there and play.”

A sentiment that probably would be shared by many.