“This was 1 of the tournaments when I was younger I felt I had the best shot of winning.” A jubilant Coco Gauff couldn’t control her tears of joy after completing a longtime dream of lifting the Suzanne Lenglen trophy. She finally did it, earlier this month, with a hard-earned victory in the summit clash of the French Open. Against World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, the 21-year-old came back from being one set down. She emerged triumphant with a score line of 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. Prior to this historic feat, however, Gauff was nowhere near the form she got into on the Parisian clay. Back-to-back early exits across WTA tournaments marred her chances. So, how was the resurgence possible? Well, Rennae Stubbs has now revealed the key to success behind Gauff’s magical run over the last month-and-a-half.

Back in January, Gauff had a decent start to her 2025 season. She delivered a promising run at the Australian Open, reaching the QF stage. But then, the big downfall arrived. In Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami she failed to impress, exiting in R32, R32, R16, and R16 again. In Stuttgart, she managed to reach the last eight. But something changed when she decided to compete in doubles, alongside her singles campaign in Madrid. Result? She not only reached the QF stage in doubles (with new partner Alexandra Eala) but also entered the singles summit clash.

Gauff continued to impress in the same fashion in Rome as well. In doubles, she and Eala succeeded in entering the QF round. On the other hand, the World No.2 made it to her second-straight final of the season. And after that, as we know, the rest is history. She went on to become the first American player, since Serena Williams in 2015, to win the French Open. It appears a return to the doubles format may have done the trick for Gauff. That’s what former WTA icon Rennae Stubbs claims. Speaking in an episode of her podcast, dated June 18, Stubbs began, “Frankly, I think one of the reasons why, and this might be little bit of controversial, I think one of the reasons why Coco Gauff has played well over the last, like, month is she’s started playing a little bit of doubles again.”

Explaining her point, she continued, “It helps your game, there’s no doubt about it. (Mirra) Andreeva is a great example, she’s playing singles and doubles every single week. (Jasmine) Paolini’s playing singles and doubles every single week.”

Her words make sense as well. Teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva’s been actively competing in singles and doubles. Possibly that’s why she’s been consistent throughout this season. She even won back-to-back WTA 1000 titles, in Dubai and then in Indian Wells. Similarly, Paolini seems to have benefited from playing singles and doubles actively. Probably that’s the reason she won her maiden WTA title last month. In the final of the Italian Open, she beat Gauff in straight sets. She even won the doubles trophy there with compatriot Sara Errani. And then at the French Open, she clinched the women’s doubles trophy, too, with Errani.

Coming back to Gauff’s journey in 2025, it’s set to take a shift. After impressing on the clay surface, her next challenge is on grass. The All England Club is what she’s targeting right now. But is she prepared for this tough mission? Seems like she is.

Coco Gauff looks to alter her past at the Wimbledon

For the uninitiated, Coco Gauff made her Wimbledon debut back in 2019. In the first round, aged 15, she stunned the tennis community. She went on to snatch a victory over her childhood idol Venus Williams. As a result, the American teenager turned into an overnight sensation. While she’s delivered on the hype around her in other events and slams, Wimbledon still remains an unsolved mystery.

The two-time slam queen has failed to go beyond the fourth round on grass at the All England Club. Let alone getting into the semis or the summit clash. But she’s now got a plan to change her poor record. How? During an interaction with Vogue, Gauff revealed, “Grass has been trial and error for me. The biggest thing, I think, is just to be more aggressive.”

The 21-year-old added, “On clay, you have a little more time; you can slide, you can use the height of the ball’s bounce a bit more. That’s less so on grass.” For her, the crucial thing this time will be to play “more aggressively… and I want to serve a lot bigger.” Going into Wimbledon, she’s set to prepare with an appearance on grass in Berlin. On Thursday, she will kick off her campaign against China’s Xinyu Wang.

What do you think about Coco Gauff’s prospects at the All England Club this season? Can she replicate her clay success on grass too? Let us know in the comments below.