Wozniacki says she is 'on the right track' despite US Open exit
The former Australian Open champion entered the year's final major for the first time since 2019 as a wildcard, after coming out of retirement following the birth of her two children.
The Dane suffered early exits from a pair of US Open tuneup events in Montreal and Cincinnati but excelled in New York, where she took down 11th seed Petra Kvitova en route to the round of 16.
"I wanted to see with these three events that I came back and played this year, I wanted to see kind of where I was tennis-wise, where I was physically," Wozniacki, who lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, told reporters.
"I'm exactly where I want to be. There's still a few things that I want to work on and I can do better. But in general I think it's very positive."
She showed her mettle against Gauff, who is at the top of her game after winning at Washington and Cincinnati, but ran out of steam on Arthur Ashe Stadium as her lack of recent match experience caught up with her.
The former world number one plans to play more of a full schedule next year and will work to improve on her serve, which she said let her down particularly in the first and third sets.
"I think that I can beat anyone on any given day," she told reporters.
"There's a lot of positives to take with me going forward. I'm on the right track. I'm finding my form, I'm finding my feet. I know what I'm doing on the practice court is the right thing.
"So I'm excited to take on more events, more players out there."