Coco Gauff shows true colors after Italian Open | Sports News

Tennis famous person Coco Gauff confirmed her class to Italian Open rival Jasmine Paolini after shedding a second consecutive WTA ultimate forward of this month’s French Open Grand Slam. The 21-year-old misplaced the Madrid Open ultimate to Aryna Sabalenka on her quest to get back to her best and regarded sturdy to win the Italian Open, solely to fall to home favourite Paolini in straight units after delivering a controversial opinion on the nation’s signature delicacies, pasta.

“Congrats, Jasmine, on this incredible achievement. You’re an incredible person and player. It’s always tough playing you. Good luck in the doubles final. I hope you guys can take it home,” Gauff stated instantly after the defeat. It’s the most recent setback for Gauff, who suffered early 2025 struggles on the Australian Open,  Indian Wells, and Miami Open earlier than seeing an uptake in kind in Europe forward of Roland-Garros.

Gauff additionally dropped to fourth within the WTA rankings, being surpassed by compatriot Jessica Pegula. However, following Gauff’s ultimate look in Rome, the 2023 U.S. Open winner has reclaimed the third spot.

Gauff will take some confidence from back-to-back ultimate appearances into the French Open, hoping to avenge her 2022 ultimate defeat to Pole Iga Swiatek. “I think just accepting the highs and lows. I think sometimes in sports you want to just stay on the high and kind of ride that wave, but especially with this sport, a season as long as tennis, it’s impossible to always be on that high wave, and there’s going to be some low moments, I think,” she stated to the Roland-Garros web site.

“Just trying to stick through those tough moments and get better through them. Not feeling like the rest of the season is going to go that way. I feel like I’m able to turn it around. It’s happened before. I think it just takes one match or two matches to kind of get that confidence back.”

“When you’re coming off a good start to the season, you don’t look to maintain it. I feel like I try to treat each part of the season in different sections. So regardless of something good or bad happens, it’s a chance to reset,” she added.

Gauff is not fazed by the turbulence within the WTA rankings. She’s laser-focused on Grand Slam wins. “Yes and no. I’ve never been a rankings girl. Really, I want to just win Grand Slams. My dad always said, ‘the number, the ranking will come with the Slams,'” she stated.

“So I think for me, I’m looking more at winning Slams. And if I win a Slam this year and don’t become number one, I will be satisfied. I’ll be more satisfied than if I became number one and didn’t win a Slam.”

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Gauff thrashed Swiatek within the Madrid Open semifinals. Still, it is a head-to-head matchup that she nonetheless trails. “I think for me, well, because my head-to-head with her was more so just about beating her, period. But yeah, I haven’t really gotten to think about that. I do think I am a good player on clay. And I know that if I want to win that tournament, I have to probably beat her, most likely.” she continued on her rivalry with the Pole.

“I think it’s more so just training to be the best version of myself. And I think that that’s the way I have been training,” Gauff stated. “And with my results against her in the past, it has not turned out my way.

“She’s an unbelievable expertise, on any floor, however particularly on clay. So that will be a purpose to win this match simply because I did make the ultimate. So I really feel like I’ve a lot of unfinished business there. And yeah, she’s positively the primary individual to beat with regards to taking part in at Roland-Garros.”