Red clay is home to a lot of “firsts” for the American tennis star, Coco Gauff. Last year, while sharing her experience on this surface during an interview with Olympics.com, Gauff revealed that she grew up playing on clay. “It’s always the first for me, my breakout [surface]: My first junior Grand Slam was on red clay. My first major quarter-final was on red clay, my first final… It’s a lot of ‘firsts‘ for me on the surface and [that] gives me a lot of confidence.” Her goal has always been to win the French Open title, and she admitted this last year in Madrid. In 2024, she went down to her fiercest rival, Iga Swiatek, in the SF by straight sets. Can she fulfill her long-awaited wish this year?

In 2018, Coco Gauff became the fifth youngest girls’ singles champion in the French Open history. Interestingly, the American didn’t drop a set until the final, when she secured an incredible comeback victory against her compatriot Caty McNally. At the senior level, Gauff came closer to clinching the title in 2022, but she eventually went down to Swiatek by 1-6,3-6. Following that defeat to the Pole, the youngest French Open finalist since Kim Clijsters (2001) said, “I’m sure I’m going to play her in another final and, hopefully, it’s a different result.”

After that, Gauff met Swiatek 12 times, but she may yet again cross paths with the Pole in the final. Currently, she has a win-loss record of 4-11 against the former world number one. Interestingly, if everything goes right, she could yet again face Swiatek in the Italian Open final. But what are her chances at the French Open this year? Well, during the recent episode of the Nothing Major Show, American former pro, Steve Johnson, walked us through the chances of Gauff at the 2025 French Open. Coco Gauff has a win-loss record of 19-7 this season, and John Isner was seen highlighting how uneven it has been for Gauff this year. Although she reached the final of the 2025 Madrid Open and secured her place back in the Top 3, the 21-year-old is yet to win a title this year. 

However, according to Johnson, “I think Coco has…I mean, she definitely has a chance..I mean she’s one of, if not the best, competitor and I think the most mentally kind of like stable, you know week in and week out, day in and day out on the women’s side.” He further added, “I mean she shows up and she competes. She may not have some of her best tennis we know her forehand is her weaker side and sometimes the serve can kind of go off the rails as well but when she steps on court, she never seems to have any attitude issues or you know so she goes out there to compete, which in…men’s tennis, women’s tennis is some of the most important aspects to have is to just go out there and compete point in and point out. I think she’s going to take a lot of confidence from this Madrid final that she’s starting to play some of her best tennis.“

Does she have a chance in the French Open this year? Well, Sam Querrey and Jack Sock ruled out her chances this year. But according to Johnson, “I do think she’s (Coco) the third favorite to get to a French Open title.“ He further spoke about the permutations and combinations surrounding her draw, and according to him, if anyone among Swiatek or Sabalenka goes out early, it could open the way for someone like Coco Gauff.

But before the French Open, comes the mega battle in Rome and Gauff will be keen to bounce back strongly from her 3-6,6(3)-7 defeat to Sabalenka in the final of the Madrid Open. Speaking about Gauff’s performance in that match, the Belarusian said, “I am super happy to see you back in the final, playing your best tennis. I am pretty sure we are going to play many more times in the finals. I mean, I hope I am going to get all of them, but I always enjoy fighting against you; you are such a fighter, and I am happy to see you back, honestly. Thank you. Thank you for this final.” What do the other tennis experts think about her performance in Madrid and her chances in the upcoming events?

Tennis experts express concerns surrounding Coco Gauff’s game ahead of the Italian Open

Despite the positives from making a longer run at the Madrid Open, Coco Gauff’s serves still remain the elephant in the room. In the Madrid final, she committed 8 double faults! Talking about her struggles with the serves, the American admitted, “1st serve % was really low. When you’re playing someone as aggressive as Aryna, you def have to put more 1st serves in the court. I wish I could’ve done that better. I had a set point in the 2nd set & couple chances in the tiebreak to go up.” Talking about the numbers, Gauff landed just 55% of her serves, won 57% of those points, and 53% on the second serve.

Talking about her constant struggles, Serena Williams’ childhood coach tweeted, “Tweaking/ Speaking will not solve the double fault leaking. Coco has all the inner qualities to be number One. Her wheels/ fighting spirit and determination is so special. But tennis is such a technical sport more than any other, as the muscle memory you grooved in the beginning that alone might stop you from winning.”

Even other tennis experts like the former British doubles star, Colin Fleming, stated that he is absolutely “gutted” for Coco Gauff. He looked quite disappointed with Gauff’s performance in the Madrid final. Even Annabel Croft claimed that at one point she thought it’d be a complete “whitewash“. If we take a look at Gauff’s performance on the clay courts this season, she reached the QF in Stuttgart before making this long run in Madrid. So, she has been close to her best on this surface in 2025 so far, but do you think she can excel in the next two clay-court events?