Coco Gauff is on cloud 9 at the moment. Last week, she became the French Open champion for the first time in her career, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling summit clash. Even though the feeling about becoming the champion in Paris hasn’t sunk in fully yet, Gauff’s name is already doing the rounds for the upcoming Wimbledon Championships. She, along with fellow Americans like Ben Shelton and Madison Keys, has been in the reckoning for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

The Americans enjoyed a successful French Open event. While Gauff won the trophy, the likes of Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Paul reached the quarterfinals. Additionally, Shelton managed his best outing at the French Open, reaching the fourth round. With the focus now shifting to grass, the American hopes have been reignited with big-serving stars like Shelton.

The French Open success directly fuels this momentum. Wimbledon’s official June 5 poll shows Gauff dominating fan predictions as a tournament favorite alongside Carlos Alcaraz, while Shelton and Keys are heavily backed as top dark horses—collectively holding 66% of fan-tipped contender spots. Tracy Austin’s technical breakdown adds granularity: Shelton’s 147 mph serve (2024 Wimbledon speed record) and Keys’ 84% win rate on grass-court approaches (2023-2024 WTA data) amplify their threat. Yet historical limitations persist.

Madison Keys—who defeated Sabalenka in January’s Australian Open final—has never advanced past Wimbledon’s quarterfinals, while Shelton’s 2024 fourth-round exit (marred by a 42% second-serve win rate) and Gauff’s identical Wimbledon ceiling underscore unresolved grass-court challenges.

Going by the past results, Gauff isn’t very comfortable on grass. However, things could change this year, as the American sensation will arrive at Wimbledon in prime form. Meanwhile, American legend Tracy Austin also hopes to see the best of Gauff at Wimbledon. She revealed the perfect formula for Gauff to succeed at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

Coco Gauff receives the winning formula from Tracy Austin

Although Gauff has been successful on hard courts and clay courts, a grass-court title still eludes her. With Gauff in prime form, she is expected to break that barrier and open her account on grass courts. Ahead of the grass-court season, Austin had some suggestions for Gauff to succeed on this surface.

During an interview, she revealed, “What I’d like to see from Coco this year on the grass is to go a little bit bigger on her serve. If she can really find that big first serve, and her backhand is perfect on grass, it’s hard and it’s flat.”

Further, she went on to add, “If she can use that forehand and try to flatten it out more, even use that backhand slice, I do think that the confidence of winning your second major is really going to help her just to swing more freely. Even the whole rest of the year she’s going to be playing with more freedom.”

After her successful French Open campaign, Gauff will be seen in action at the German Open ahead of the Wimbledon Championships. It’ll be interesting to see how she performs on grass, given that her past records haven’t been encouraging.