![\"Coco](\"https:\/\/sports.inquirer.net\/files\/2026\/05\/AFP__20260516__B32Q29F__v1__HighRes__TennisWtaRomeOpen2026-1200x800.jpg\")
<\/p>\nUSA\u2019s Coco Gauff prepares to enter the court for the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament final against Ukraine\u2019s Elina Svitolina at Foro Italico in Rome on May 16, 2026. (Photo by Tiziana FABI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Coco Gauff is keen to sidestep any pressure that may include starting Roland Garros because the defending women\u2019s champion as she returns to the location of her most consistent Grand Slam success.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast 12 months looks like ten years ago,\u201d the American said at media day on Friday.<\/p>\n
Gauff comes into the tournament seeded fourth, fresh from reaching the Rome final on clay where she lost to Elina Svitolina.<\/p>\n
READ: French Open 2026 guide: How one can watch on TV, and more to know<\/h4>\n
At 22, she is about to play her seventh French Open.<\/p>\n
She won her first Grand Slam on the US Open in 2023, but Roland Garros is where she has shone most consistently. She has reached the last eight in each of her last five appearances within the French capital, including winning the tournament in 2025.<\/p>\n
She wants that record to be a source of strength moderately than expectation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I come to this tournament, I don\u2019t even take into consideration my past results here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do know I play well here. Even when I\u2019m not doing my best within the match, I do know I can find that level simply because of my history here, but it surely\u2019s also something I\u2019m not serious about, entering the match.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ: Alex Eala, Janice Tjen bring \u2018sense of pride\u2019 to French Open<\/h4>\n
Gauff\u2019s result swings have lots to do along with her erratic serve. She leads the WTA with 208 double faults this 12 months. Mirra Andreeva, who has played five more matches, is a distant second with 145.<\/p>\n
Gauff said her run to the Italian Open final was right down to higher serving.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy average in Rome was 4 in double faults,\u201d she said. \u201cI can try this. For me it\u2019s significantly better than last 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n
After breaking through at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old, Gauff has done her growing up in public eye and said the experience has been largely positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you get some perks and stuff, like people recognize you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst is you make mistakes while you grow up, so all of your mistakes are shown. But I also think it\u2019s not a nasty thing, because possibly another people can see themselves in me and realise we\u2019re not all perfect. We\u2019ve all got to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ: Coco Gauff aiming for back-to-back French Open titles<\/h4>\n
Gauff said she has worked at learning about herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually have a therapist that I actually have been going to for a very long time,\u201d she said, adding that she kept a journal and, most of all, tried to not be negative.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could be an excessive amount of of a perfectionist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I\u2019m playing the matches, I just wish to win literally every point in probably the most perfect way.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, it just doesn\u2019t at all times occur for me like that every one the time,\u201d she said. \u201cI can see where I need to be, and I need to be there so bad, but just trying now to deal with the method and the ups and downs of the journey of tennis. It\u2019s something that I can hone in on and do well at times, and other times I cannot accomplish that well with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that she was happy with the mindset she showed in her Rome run.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m winning these matches lots on just mental fight and stuff,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cI do feel like I\u2019m a greater player than I used to be last 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gauff opens her title defence in Paris against compatriot Taylor Townsend.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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USA\u2019s Coco Gauff prepares to enter the court for the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament final against Ukraine\u2019s Elina Svitolina at Foro Italico in Rome on May 16, 2026. (Photo by Tiziana FABI \/ AFP) Coco Gauff is keen to sidestep any pressure that may include starting Roland Garros because the defending women\u2019s champion as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[2669,6747,10782,2670,6540,1148],"class_list":["post-339430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-coco","tag-defend","tag-ease","tag-gauff","tag-prepares","tag-title"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339430"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339433,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339430\/revisions\/339433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}