Gauff, who won the last two Australian Open tune-up tournaments in Auckland, is part of the US team at the December 27th to January 5th United Cup in Perth and Sydney.
"I love Auckland. I won twice there. It was a great tournament," the 2023 US Open champion told reporters.
"For me, I wanted to play a higher level of competition and also a team competition.
"I had a lot of fun with the Paris Olympics. The season's already so much by ourselves that it's nice to mix it up.
"I think for all of us the main focus is the Australian Open and doing well there."
The US start their campaign in the $10 million mixed team event in Perth against Canada on Sunday, before facing Croatia on December 31st.
The Australian Open will begin on January 12th, where Gauff will look to improve on her semi-final showing in the 2024 edition.
