Coco Gauff has been in good form so far in the French capital. The American started her title defense with a straight-sets win over fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-0 and continued her dominance with another routine victory against qualifier Mayar Sherif in the second round.
The defending champion will face Austrian Anastasia Potapova in the third round on Friday.
Gauff has had a mixed season so far on clay in 2026, with the Stuttgart 500 event being her first tournament. The World No.4 started strong by defeating Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets 7-5 6-1, but was then defeated by Karolína Muchová in the quarterfinals.
The 2025 Madrid Open finalist began her campaign with a straight-sets win over Leolia Jeanjean 6-3, 6-0 and then continued where she left off with an impressive comeback win against Sorana Cirstea. Gauff’s journey in Madrid ended with a shock defeat to Linda Noskova in the third round.
The curtain raiser before the biggest clay tournament saw Gauff take her talents to Rome. The two-time Grand Slam winner started on a good note with a dominant win against Tereza Valentova.
The American staged three remarkable comebacks from a set down against Solana Sierra, Iva Jovic, and Mirra Andreeva to reach the final where she lost to Elina Svitolina.
Coco Gauff at the French Open
The French Open has been kind to the defending champion as she holds so many records to her name.
She became the first American to win the title since Serena Williams in 2015 when she defeated world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka to win the title in 2025.
In 2018, she won the girls’ singles tennis title when she defeated compatriot Caty McNally in the final, 1–6 6–3 7–6(7–1).
Gauff teamed up with Katerina Siniaková to win the women’s doubles title and became the only active woman to have won both the junior and professional singles titles, and both singles and doubles titles at the same Major.
She has been a consistent performer in Paris, where she has made it to the semifinals or better in the past three years.
The World No.4 is currently on a winning streak since 2022 against all opponents other than Iga Świątek.
The good thing for Gauff is that she will only meet Świątek if they both make it to the final.
It is safe to say that Coco Gruff will make it to back-to-back finals and possibly win the title.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
