Coco Gauff arrives fresh off her second Grand Slam title, having defeated Sabalenka in the Roland Garros final. After a tough Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Paula Badosa and early exits in Qatar, Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami, the young American struggled to find her footing. But she bounced back with a strong quarterfinal showing at the Stuttgart Boss Open, then surged through the clay season with three consecutive finals in Madrid, Rome, and Paris. Grass courts have always been a love-hate battle for Gauff—what will this season bring?

Gauff’s journey is nothing short of electric. She’s already bagged ten WTA singles titles, including two Grand Slams — the 2023 US Open and the 2025 French Open—and the coveted 2024 WTA Finals. But here’s the twist: grass courts still feel like a mountain she’s itching to climb. Despite showing grit and grace at Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round three times (2019, 2021, 2024), she’s yet to snag a WTA 500 grass-court title, like the Berlin Open. It’s that missing piece in her dazzling puzzle, a challenge that’s calling her name loud and clear. At Wimbledon, she also holds the distinction of being the youngest player to qualify for the main draw in the Open Era, doing so in 2019 at just 15 years old—her breakout performance that stunned Venus Williams in the opening round.

Her power and finesse truly shine on hard and clay courts. Eight of her ten titles are on hard courts, with two on clay—including that epic French Open win. She’s a beast with a 70.18 % win rate on hard and an even more jaw-dropping 74.56 % on clay. But grass? That’s been a tricky dance. With a 71.05 % rate and a 27-11 record since 2018, she’s battled hard at ten grass events but never quite conquered. The Berlin Open could be the stage where she flips the script and shows the world she’s a force everywhere. Gauff has often acknowledged that grass “rewards aggression but punishes hesitation,” a dynamic that can expose the occasional inconsistency in her forehand backswing under pressure.

Last year’s Berlin run was a rollercoaster — she stormed into the semifinals but was stopped by Jessica Pegula. In 2023, she made it to the round of 16, and in 2022, another semifinal heartbreak against Ons Jabeur. Both losses were tight three-set matches, with Gauff squandering leads in the decider—something she’s worked on by sharpening her serve-plus-one pattern under coach Brad Gilbert. It’s been a bit of a love-hate story with grass, but this year feels different. Winning Berlin would mean more than just €142,610 ($1,63,915.77 USD) and 500 ranking points — it would close the gap between her and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (currently at 11,553 points) from 8,083 to 8,583 points. This would tighten the race for the top spot and give her crucial momentum heading into Wimbledon.

Additionally, if Coco Gauff lifts the Berlin trophy, she’d make history as the first No. 2 seed to win the tournament in recent memory. That would put her in an exclusive club alongside Sabalenka, who won as the No. 1 seed, and Jessica Pegula, who took the title last year as the fourth seed. This achievement would be a powerful statement of her growing mastery on grass and her rise as a true all-surface contender. It would also mark her first title in Europe outside of clay, a symbolic shift in her versatility and maturity on tour.

Speaking of Sabalenka, she’s the top seed and a fierce contender, hunting for her first grass title despite a shaky Berlin record. Then there’s Pegula, the defending champion and a gritty fighter who saved five championship points last year. The field is stacked with heavy hitters, including seven Grand Slam champions like Elena Rybakina and Marketa Vondrousova. Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, is widely considered the biggest grass-court threat in the draw due to her flat hitting and unshakable serve. Vondrousova, meanwhile, shocked the field at Wimbledon 2023 with her unpredictable lefty game. Will she overcome these obstacles? Only time will tell.

But let’s not forget that Gauff is a firecracker with a hunger that won’t quit. The pressure’s mounting as she eyes Berlin and Wimbledon, but so is her fierce determination. Andy Roddick might be on the fence for it, though.

American ex-pro reveals what he thinks about Coco Gauff on grass courts

Tennis legend Chris Evert believes Gauff can definitely win Wimbledon, but Andy Roddick isn’t so sure. He pointed out, “She’s [Gauff] confident coming off of Roland Garros. Listen, the book on Coco hasn’t changed because she’s won Roland Garros. She’s so good at what she does, but the entry point to the forehand with pace is still going to be the thing that people try to do against her consistently. The easiest surface to do that on, in my opinion, against her, is on grass.” Ouch, that’s a tough critique, but it might hit the mark given her grass stats.

Still, you can’t count Gauff out. This season, she’s shown serious growth—she stumbled during the hard-court swing but then soared on clay, capturing the French Open. Heading into grass, she’s optimistic but grounded. On the podcast Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike, she said, “I think I can give myself the best chance to win Wimbledon by trying to downplay my victory in Paris as much as possible. I’m kind of trying to forget that moment, honestly. It’s just about staying hungry.” That hunger is exactly what makes her so exciting to watch. She’s also been training at the All England Club facilities in advance, hoping to acclimate quicker to grass nuances than in previous years.

She’s not wasting any time either. Before Wimbledon, Gauff’s off to the Berlin Open, ready to kick off her grass campaign against Xinyu Wang. They’ve met once before at Berlin in 2022, where Coco cruised through in straight sets, even bagel-ing Wang in the opener. Their head-to-head stands at 1-0, and this time, Wang, a Chinese qualifier, will be desperate to pull off a statement upset against the freshly crowned Grand Slam champ. Wang has recently broken into the top 40 of the WTA rankings and pushed world No. 6 Maria Sakkari to three sets at the French Open, signaling she’s not to be overlooked.

It’s a classic underdog story brewing. Will Coco Gauff keep her momentum rolling, or will Wang shock the crowd? We’d love to know what you think in the comments below!