What Coco Gauff’s dad told her before her first ever match at Roland Garros five years before she won the title

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Coco Gauff added a second Major title to her collection in Paris last Saturday, when she won the 2025 French Open.

Travelling to France as one of the pre-tournament favorites, expectations were high for Gauff ahead of her fifth appearance at Roland Garros.

Meeting those expectations, Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, to clinch her maiden French Open title.

The win comes five years after she first appeared in the main draw of Roland Garros, doing so in 2020.

Speaking after her debut match against Britain’s Johanna Konta, Gauff revealed what her dad said to her before the match began.

Coco Gauff’s dad told her to ‘just have fun’ ahead of her French Open debut in 2020

Heading onto Court Suzanne-Lenglen as a big underdog against number nine seed Konta, Gauff produced a stunning upset to win in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

During her post-match press conference, Gauff revealed what her dad had said to her during the warm-up.

“Honestly, my dad told me something in the warmup. He was just telling me, like, you’re living your dream, so just enjoy and have fun,” she said.

“His goal was to become an NBA player, and he didn’t make it. He told me, you’re living your dream, not everybody gets to do that, just have fun on the court.

“That really changed my perspective. I was really nervous going into the match. That just calmed me down.

“I realized it’s just a tennis match. I’m doing some things that people wish they could do. Just go out there and enjoy it.”

Gauff then looked ahead to her second-round match, where she was set to face off against Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.

“Well, I definitely have a little bit more experience playing in these conditions. I’m pretty sure this is my first, like, ever pro tournament, maybe even tournament in general, playing in weather like this. It was definitely a new adjustment I had to make in the match,” she said.

“I guess now I kind of know what works for me because all the way down to the clothes, at first I wasn’t going to wear the leggings in my match.

“At the last second, I put them on. So now I know that that works for me. That’s what I’m going to do with the next match.”

Unfortunately for Gauff, her debut French Open campaign came to an end in the second round as she lost to Trevisan 6-4, 2-6, 5-7.

It was, however, a defeat that aged well, with Trevisan reaching the last eight in Paris, coming up short to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.

Gauff may only have won the one match on her French Open debut in 2020, but she certainly showed fans a glimpse of what she had to offer on the Parisian clay.

Coco Gauff’s record at the French Open

The American WTA star has produced some of her best tennis at Roland Garros over the years.

Since making her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 2019, the French Open has proved her most successful Major tournament.

Winning 27 and losing five of her 32 matches at the French Open, Gauff has become a perennial contender at the sole clay-court Grand Slam.

There’s an argument to say her losses are even more impressive than her wins, having only lost one match at the French Open to a player who didn’t go on to win the tournament.

Coco Gauff’s French Open defeats

• 2024 – Coco Gauff lost in SF to Iga Swiatek (Champion)
• 2023 – Coco Gauff lost in QF to Iga Swiatek (Champion)
• 2022 – Coco Gauff lost in F to Iga Swiatek (Champion)
• 2021 – Coco Gauff lost in QF to Barbora Krejcikova (Champion)
• 2020 – Coco Gauff lost in 2R to Martina Trevisan (Quarterfinalist)

With such an impressive record, Gauff will likely return to Roland Garros next year as a heavy favorite to defend her title.

She will, of course, face some stiff opposition from the likes of Swiatek and Sabalenka, but having picked up her first title in 2025, will no doubt be confident of adding a second in 2026.

The 2026 French Open is scheduled to begin on May 25.