Before the blockbuster R16 clash at the Italian Open, Coco Gauff said that she expects a “tough match” against Emma Raducanu. She also claimed that the Brit “has the game to be a great clay-court player.” If we take a look at Raducanu’s numbers, before this match, her win-loss record was 4-1. Although she made an exit from the Madrid Open after a hard-fought three-set battle against Marta Kostyuk, Raducanu came back strongly in Rome, winning three matches on the trot. Talking about this match against Gauff, she said she’s excited to be in a match where she can “test” herself. But unfortunately for the Brit, it took the American just 79 minutes to win this contest. However, despite this emphatic victory, Gauff didn’t forget to poke fun at her sole blunder in this match. What was the blunder, though?

This was Coco Gauff’s second meeting with Emma Raducanu after the 2023 AO, where she defeated her in straight sets. Even here in Rome, Gauff didn’t have to put much effort into sealing the deal. She won the clash of the two former US Open champions by 6-1,6-2. However, despite this dominating performance, there was a moment in this match where Gauff burst out in laughter after seeing her hilarious mistake while trying to hit a ball. She had a moment of misjudgment, and in fact, Gauff even tried to hit a ball that eventually landed well outside the baseline.

The official IG page of the WTA shared this post with the caption, “Sometimes you just have to laugh it off 🤣.” After seeing this, even Gauff was spotted poking fun at herself by sharing this similar post on her IG stories with the caption, “I thought the ball was going to land like 3 feet inside the court, no depth perception 🤣.” 

Other than this, it was a clinical performance from the 21-year-old American. Coco Gauff had committed 14 double faults in her previous two matches at the Italian Open, but in this match, she kept it pretty tidy, coming just 3 double faults. With this win, Gauff has now also become the youngest player to reach four WTA 1000 clay QFs since the format began (2009). In another IG post, the WTA highlighted that Coco Gauff has now become the second-youngest to reach singles QF in both Madrid and Rome in one season.

After seeing this post from the WTA, she re-shared it with a humorous caption, “Been on tour for 6 years and the age stats are still coming lolll😂😂.” What did both Gauff and Raducanu say in their post-match interviews, though?

“Really difficult match” – Emma Raducanu analyzes her performance against Coco Gauff

Emma Raducanu showcased a fair bit of resilience in each of her previous matches in this tournament. But somehow against Coco Gauff, she looked a bit clueless about how to counter the world number 3. This was probably her last match before she got things started at the Roland Garros.

Talking about what really went wrong in this match, the Brit said, “I found it a really difficult match. I think the conditions were very different to my last round, it was a different court and it was very bouncy, there wasn’t much clay on the court. And it was quite windy too. Coco also played a really good match, and I definitely saw why she’s No. 3 in the world right now. She played really well. I do think I got outplayed today but I guess I have no shame in saying that and looking forward to working to try to get better.“

However, despite this loss, tennis bigwig Tim Henman believes Raducanu’s game is going in the “right direction“. Even Raducanu has done some tweaks with her serves, and her precision was well reflected in her last three matches in Rome. Can she come up with a better performance at the upcoming big clay-court event? Time will tell!

But Coco Gauff yet again hailed Raducanu as a “tough opponent” despite her comfortable victory in this match. In her post-match interview, Gauff analyzed, “It was definitely an A [grade]. It was tough conditions, it was super windy. Emma is a tough opponent, no matter what surface. She’s tough to play, so I am really happy with how I played.” She feels her game is getting better every match,h and she hopes to repeat the same in her next match against the 18-year-old tennis sensation, Mirra Andreeva. Gauff has a 3-0 record over the Russian, with her latest victory coming at the 2025 Madrid Open. Do you think she can secure her place for the SF with a win against the in-form Andreeva?