Coco Gauff has thrown out the mental playbook that comes with being a defending ?champion, declaring she¡¯s done with the pressure of trying to ¡°defend, defend¡± as she looks to retain her French Open title.
With Aryna Sabalenka arriving at the tournament under an injury cloud, and Iga Swiatek no longer as dominant on clay as she once was, Gauff is among the favorites to ?win once again in Paris.
The world No. 4, who beat Sabalenka in last year¡¯s final at Roland Garros to win her second Grand Slam title, said she had ?learned a vital lesson from her previous attempt at defending a major, when she was eliminated from the 2024 U.S. Open in the fourth round.
¡°I realize that the defending means nothing ?in a way,¡°?she told reporters at this month¡¯s Italian Open. ¡°Each year is a new opportunity and new chance for anyone to win. Obviously, ?I hope it¡¯s me.
¡°I don¡¯t really look at it as defending anymore. I guess at the U.S. Open ?I was like, ¡¯I need to defend, ?defend¡¯... I say now ¡¯it¡¯s just another tournament.¡¯
¡°I won it last year. I¡¯ll try again to do it this year. I¡¯m not going ?to be able to ?defend every year. I¡¯m not Rafa (Nadal). Maybe one day!¡±
Gauff¡¯s preparations for the French Open have not been ideal, and she ?was forced ?to contend with a virus?as well as a fourth-round loss in Madrid?before bouncing back to reach a second straight Italian Open final.
In the final, Gauff racked up seven double faults and was beaten by Elina Svitolina.
However, she believes she has ?finally cracked the code on her serve issues, which saw her lead?the WTA Tour in double faults in both 2024 and 2025 and enlist?biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan last year to address the problem.
While she once again finds herself at the top of that list for double faults in ?2026, ?she committed just one in each of her wins over Sorana Cirstea ?and Iva Jovic in Rome, an improvement she credited to a newfound stability with?her second ?serve.
¡°It¡¯s been an up-and-down process,¡± Gauff said.?¡°I obviously don¡¯t want to jinx anything, but I think we found the recipe to making it more consistent.
¡°Now it¡¯s focusing on how to make it more of a weapon, how to serve smarter. I¡¯m ?tossing a bit more consistent. My weight I feel is a little bit better. Also just the trust, the confidence in it is a lot better.¡±
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