Remember the shockers at the Dubai Championships and Indian Wells? Russian WTA ace Mirra Andreeva stunned the tennis world by taking both titles, dismantling Clara Tauson and top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the process. You can go back a bit further to the AO, where Madison Keys, a month shy of 30 years of age, ranked 19th then, toppled Aryna Sabalenka in the final to become the oldest first-time major winner since a 33-year-old Flavia Pennetta won the U.S. Open in 2015. Now, with the clay of Roland Garros calling, Coco Gauff brings up Emma Raducanu’s fairytale US Open win to highlight what makes the WTA circuit so electrifying. Unpredictability? Absolutely. And that’s precisely why we can’t take our eyes off it. Isn’t it?

At the US Open 2021, British ace Emma Raducanu stunned the world by ending Britain’s 44-year wait for a women’s GS singles champion, defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in a dazzling final. Just 18 years old, Raducanu became the 1st qualifier in the Open Era to win a Slam, the youngest Slam champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004, and the youngest Brit to claim a major title. 

She also became the 1st British woman to win the US Open since Virginia Wade in 1968, and remarkably, did it all without dropping a set, a feat last achieved by Serena Williams in 2014. Raducanu’s fairytale run has now been cited by none other than Coco Gauff, who referenced the historic win to emphasize why the WTA circuit is so electrifying. 

During the pre-tournament press conference uploaded on Tennis Actu TV‘s YouTube channel, Coco discussed the reasons she believes that any of the top five contenders could claim victory. Coco added, “I think everybody’s playing some great tennis. So yeah, I would definitely think it’s pretty open. I mean obviously, I hope I’m up there, but there’s obviously like Jasmine, Aryna, Iga could win Meera, there’s more I can name that all have the opportunity,”

Later in her address, she highlighted the possibility of a similarly unexpected success story, using Emma Raducanu as an example, to explain the WTA’s higher degree of unpredictability compared to the ATP.  “And who knows, I mean we all seen like things like the US Open happen when Emma won, so that there’s literally anybody can win this tournament. Yeah I think that’s what makes women’s tennis exciting I think this is why everyone should tune in because you know I feel like it’s maybe not so much with the on the men where maybe you have like maybe the top three or four you know who’s going to win I think women there’s so many possibilities so it makes each matchup um equally exciting.” The last five men’s Grand Slam events have either been won by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner or No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. A little further back, and it’s mostly Novak Djokovic. Meanwhile, the women’s division has been far more competitive, with as many as four different winners in the last five Grand Slam events. Gauff herself hasn’t won one since her U.S. Open victory in 2023. 

This year, Coco Gauff enters Roland Garros as a strong favorite to reach the final. Thanks to a favorable draw, she avoids top seed Iga Swiatek until the final and sidesteps many of the WTA’s heavy hitters, who landed in the top half alongside the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff’s early-round path appears manageable on paper, with a potential 3rd-round match against 30th seed Anna Kalinskaya, who has never passed the 2nd round in Paris.

In the 4th round, Gauff is projected to face 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who has yet to play a match this year because of injury. She may face Madison Keys in the QF, and that may pose a challenge, but her form has dipped since her red-hot start to the season. An SF clash could pit Gauff against Mirra Andreeva, whom she’s beaten twice recently on clay, or Jessica Pegula, who favors faster surfaces.

While Gauff is firmly in the spotlight at France, she remains grounded. Reflecting on her recent final loss in Rome, she emphasized her readiness to adapt and push through tough situations if they arise again on the court.

Coco Gauff Reveals Strategy for Tough Matches

Coco Gauff is eyeing a breakthrough at Roland Garros after back-to-back final losses on clay courts in the past couple of weeks. Earlier this month, she fell to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final, and later suffered another defeat at the hands of Italy’s Jasmine Paolini. The Italian dominated the final 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court. Despite earning two breaks, Gauff dropped serve five times and struggled with her second serve, managing only 55 percent of points and recording 7 double faults.

Ahead of her French Open campaign, Coco also opened up about overcoming on-court challenges and shared insights on what went wrong in Italy. “I think for me, I mean, that was a tough match. I think I was a little bit mentally no excuse, but I just was mentally a little mentally drained from the long match of Zheng’s Qinwen, and so I think just approaching it a little bit differently. But I‌ wasn’t nervous or anything. I think I maybe made too many errors that match. I feel like maybe when I’m not feeling the best on the court,” she said.

The 21-year-old also discussed how she plans to respond if similar hurdles arise on the Parisian clay. “I can you know take some more time in between points try to build the points more, maybe not rush out of them as much, and you know it was tough, Jasmine was also playing great. So I felt like that day it just wasn’t meant to be, but you know, I’ve put it past and I know that next time I maybe feel like that one I can do some other things to kind of make myself get back into the match,” she added.

Coco Gauff is set to begin her French Open journey against Australian Olivia Gadecki. With a favorable draw and recent lessons learned, will the American finally find her winning rhythm on clay?