Coco Gauff has just mirrored her preparation for last year’s Roland Garros, and that alone should provide some solace after losing another final.
After all, in 2025 she was beaten in the finals in both Madrid and Rome, yet went on to claim the ultimate clay-court prize in Paris.
This is what she must remember when returning to France, where she will be in the unique position of having to defend the title.
This kind of role can bring additional pressures that might cause some to crumble.
However, Coco Gauff continues to insist that she will not be bogged down by such expectations.
Coco Gauff looks ahead to defending her Roland Garros title
Speaking at her press conference after losing the Italian Open final, she began by answering a question on her mindset ahead of Roland Garros.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of positives I can take from this tournament and a lot I can learn from,” she began. “I’m sure the pressure will be there.
Do you think Coco Gauff will win a Grand Slam title this year?
“I don’t know. I think this week I experienced all the ups and downs of a tournament that can bring you before a Grand Slam of I’ve been down, had the lead, lost the lead, I’ve been in the final, been down match point. I think I’ve experienced every scenario that can prepare me for Roland Garros.”
Hoping to learn from this experience, Gauff then explained how she felt she struggled to adapt to the ever-changing nature of the match against Elina Svitolina.
Then, when asked what she might try to change between now and her next event at the French Open, the 22-year-old claimed: “I think just being not necessarily more offensive because I’m getting the short balls and stuff. I think just capitalising and working on capitalising on those shorter balls, having more of a plan on what to do with them.
“I think I got a lot of short ones today and just didn’t do anything with them.”
This came after Gauff admitted the mistake she made in the Italian Open final.
Who was the last American to defend the Roland Garros title?
Whilst some might assume that Serena Williams would have been the easy answer when wondering who the last woman to defend the Roland Garros title was, that is not the case.
In fact, with Gauff seeking to achieve this feat, she would have to become the first woman in 40 years to do so.
Williams did win the event on three occasions, but all came years apart.
Do you think women’s tennis has got better or worse since Serena Williams retired in 2022?
Jennifer Capriati also claimed one, but was unable to win it again.
You then have to delve back to 1986 to find the last American woman to win the French Open, when Chris Evert successfully defended her 1985 title.
This marked her seventh Roland Garros triumph, the most for a woman in Open Era history.
