Coco Gauff has struggled in the past to perform at her best on grass courts.
The American star did not win a single match on the surface in 2025, losing her opening contests at the Berlin Open and Wimbledon.
Gauff was beaten by Xinyu Wang in Germany and by Dayana Yastremska in the British capital.
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On the WTA Tour, failure brings later opportunity; and Gauff now has the chance to significantly increase her WTA ranking points total through this year’s grass-court swing.
Her chances of doing so have now increased, following Amanda Anisimova’s Berlin Open withdrawal.
Amanda Anisimova’s Berlin Open withdrawal opens the door for Coco Gauff to capitalise
After suffering yet another disappointing defeat at the Queen’s Club Championships, Amanda Anisimova has decided to withdraw from the Berlin Open.
The withdrawal, which was first reported on X by reliable New York Times journalist Ben Rothenberg, will see Coco Gauff move up one spot in the seedings.
Gauff is now the fifth seed for the event, meaning she will receive an automatic bye through to the second round.
Only the top five seeds at the Berlin Open receive an automatic first-round bye.
Gauff will play a qualifier or Paula Badosa in the second round. Badosa, the former world number two, received a wildcard for the event on Saturday.
Coco Gauff’s path to the Berlin Open title
- First round: BYE
- Second round: Paula Badosa / qualifier
- Quarter-finals: Linda Noskova
- Semi-finals: Elena Rybakina
- Final: Aryna Sabalenka
If Gauff advances to the quarter-finals in Berlin, she will likely play eighth seed Linda Noskova.
Diana Shnaider, who recently defeated Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the Roland Garros semi-finals, has moved into the ninth seeded spot following Anisimova’s withdrawal.
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Who won the first grass-court Berlin Open?
The Berlin Open was first held in 1896 and was won by German player Maren Thomsen.
However, the event did not take place on grass courts until 2021.
Qualifier Liudmila Samsonova shocked the Berlin Open field by winning the 2021 event, beating Madison Keys, Victoria Azarenka, and Belinda Bencic en route.
“I can’t believe that I am here standing, it’s incredible,” Samsonova said after beating Bencic 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 in the final, as reported by tennis.com.
“Maybe with the adrenaline right now I’m okay, but I think later it’s not going to be so okay.”
Ons Jabeur, Petra Kvitova, Jessica Pegula and Marketa Vondrousova have all won the Berlin Open title since 2021.
Vondrousova is the defending champion: the 2023 Wimbledon champion defeated Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka on her way to winning the 2025 title.
