After facing back-to-back defeats to the world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini in Madrid and Rome, respectively, Coco Gauff entered the 2025 French Open with a lot of hope. She believes she can turn those disappointments into motivation ahead of her campaign on the Parisian clay. Her previous best record in this tournament was reaching the final in 2022. Recalling that moment, she recently said, “It was a tough feeling for me because I felt like I very much underperformed in that final.” Can she turn her fortunes this time around? Well, she faced Australia’s Olivia Gadecki in the first round, and guess what? She was so excited about this battle that she forgot to take her ‘weapon‘ to the battlefield.

In a recent video clips, Coco Gauff was spotted arriving at the stadium with her headphones on. But after a few moments, she was spotted searching for something in her bag. She realized that she had forgotten to bring her racket, and this is what led to this scramble before this epic battle. Gauff was heard telling the chair umpire, “They were supposed to be in my bag.” She was spotted laughing and looked literally clueless before her team swiftly handed her the racket right in time before the first-round clash. Seeing the ball boy running onto the court carrying a pack of mint-colored rackets, the court announcer said, “That’s better,” and then the crowd burst out in laughter and a round of applause filled the stadium.

Talking about other reactions surrounding this event, seeing this hilarious moment, tennis legend Chris Evert, who was then commentating on TNT Sports, initially wondered, “There’s something going on on the court that Coco is having an issue with, we don’t quite know what it is. She’s definitely discussing something.” However, later on, her co-commentator Naomi Cavaday said, “Does she have her rackets?“

However, despite this little hiccup, Coco Gauff managed to wrap up this match pretty quickly, defeating the Aussie by 6-2,6-2. This was Gauff’s 25th win of the season. Before starting her campaign at the Roland Garros, she talked about the draw and the favorites in this year’s competitions, “I would definitely think it’s pretty open. I mean, I hope that I’m up there, but there is obviously Jasmine [Paolini], Aryna [Sabalenka], Iga [Swiatek], [Zheng] Qinwen, Mirra [Andreeva]. There are some more I can name that all have the opportunity. Who knows?“

Now, since she has already secured her spot in the second round, who could be her probable opponents in the next few rounds, and what are the experts saying about her chances at the 2025 French Open?

Coco Gauff’s probable opponents in the upcoming rounds at the 2025 French Open

Coco Gauff is the youngest player competing for the US to claim more than 20 women’s singles wins at Roland Garros. In fact, she has now also become the youngest player to win the opening match at all their first six appearances at Roland Garros in the women’s singles since Martina Hingis (1995).

Following this incredible victory over Olivia Gadecki in the first round, she’s now all set to take on either the French wildcard Chloe Paquet or Czech qualifier Tereza Valentova in the second round. If she wins that match, she may face Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in the third round, and it will be followed by a possible clash with the 2021 French Open champion, Barbora Krejčíková, in the fourth round. Then in the QF, her probable opponent could be the 2025 AO champion Madison Keys. Gauff has a 2-3 record against her compatriot, and if she wins that match, she may cross paths with the teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva before trying her luck against someone like Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Talking about her chances at the 2025 French Open, former ATP pro-Steve Johnson had earlier said that Coco Gauff “definitely has a chance” of finding success at Roland Garros. He feels, “She can go into the French Open feeling like she can win the tournament.” Now, since she has already got off to a winning start, how far do you think Coco Gauff can reach this time?