Coco Gauff has suffered yet another early exit at a grass-court event.
The American star, a winner of two Grand Slam titles, has not won a match on the surface since defeating Sonay Kartal at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Paula Badosa handed Gauff her fourth straight grass-court defeat on Wednesday evening, defeating the 22-year-old 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the Berlin Open.
What does Coco Gauff need to change to become a contender on grass?
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Gauff’s form on grass courts is worrying, and she will need to make some significant changes in order to perform adequately at Wimbledon later this month.
Simply put, something seems amiss when the American steps onto the luminous green surface.
Winning Wimbledon has become Coco Gauff’s greatest challenge as a tennis player
Grass courts were the location of Coco Gauff’s initial WTA success.
Back in 2019, 15-year-old Gauff announced herself to the global tennis community by defeating Venus Williams on her way to the fourth round.
Since then, Gauff has failed to improve upon that result.
In six attempts, Gauff has never advanced past the fourth round in south-west London.
At every other Grand Slam event, she has reached at least the quarter-final stage on more than one occasion.
Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon record
- 2019: Fourth round
- 2021: Fourth round
- 2022: Third round
- 2023: First round
- 2024: Fourth round
- 2025: First round
- 2026: ?
It has become clear that grass is comfortably Coco Gauff’s weakest surface.
She is simply not the same player on grass, as demonstrated by her current two-year period without a victory on the surface.
However, with failure brings renewed opportunity.
Winning Wimbledon now represents Gauff’s greatest challenge as a tennis player – but also an opportunity to prove her doubters wrong once again.
Do you think Coco Gauff will win a Grand Slam title this year?
The American should look at her recent failures on grass courts as a motivator; a chance to silence the critics who have long attempted to play down her past successes.
Whether Gauff can overcome this challenge remains to be seen.
Coco Gauff’s reaction after beating Venus Williams at Wimbledon
When 15-year-old Coco Gauff walked onto Wimbledon Centre Court for the first time in 2019, few expected her to come away from her first-round contest victorious.
However, she did just that, beating tennis legend Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4.
It was an incredible victory – one of tennis’ greatest ever upsets.
“It’s the first time I have ever cried after winning a match,” said Gauff afterwards, as per BBC Sport.
“I don’t know how to explain how I feel.
“I definitely had to tell myself to stay calm, I had to remind myself that the lines are the same lines, the courts are the same size and after every point I told myself ‘stay calm’.”
“Venus told me congratulations and keep going, she said good luck and I told her thanks for everything she did,” Gauff added.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her – I told her she was so inspiring and I’ve always wanted to tell her that but I’ve never had the guts to before.
“My parents will be super happy, my dad was jumping up every time I won a point. I’m so happy they spent all their time on me and my brothers and making sure we’re successful.
“I never thought this would happen. I’m literally living my dream right now.
“I’m really happy Wimbledon gave me the chance to play, I never thought I would get this far.”
