Coco Gauff is the second seed in Stuttgart this year after Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the tournament.
Gauff reached the final of the Miami Open at her last tournament, and she is now preparing to begin her clay court season in Stuttgart.
The American was beaten by Sabalenka in the final of the Miami Open, and the world number one was scheduled to headline the stacked field in Stuttgart.
However, after Sabalenka withdrew from the Stuttgart Open last week, Gauff has rated her chances of doing well at the tournament this year.
Coco Gauff says she will ‘always have a good chance’ at any tournament
While Sabalenka is no longer competing in Stuttgart, the tournament still has six top 10 players including two-time former champion Iga Swiatek, who is playing her first event with new coach Francisco Roig.
However, this does not appear to matter to Gauff, who suggested that she always rates her chances in any tournament, regardless of who is playing.
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“I mean, yeah, always have a chance, regardless of who’s in the draw, Aryna or whoever is in the draw,” Gauff said in her pre-tournament press conference. “Always have a good chance to do well at any tournament.
“It’s the first clay tournament of the year for me. Some people have already got matches at Billie Jean King Cup, last week in Linz. I’m not treating this as trying to win, I think it is just more so for the process to do well the next coming weeks.”
Despite the belief she has in herself, Gauff faces a lot of pressure during the clay court season this year as she is defending more ranking points than any other player.
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Coco Gauff’s previous results at the Stuttgart Open
Gauff had a very successful clay court season last year, reaching the finals of both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, before winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open.
However, this did not translate to indoor clay courts at the Stuttgart Open, where Gauff lost to Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals.
Gauff has never surpassed the quarterfinals in her four previous appearances at the tournament, where she actually has a negative win-loss record (3-4).
| Year | Coco Gauff’s result in Stuttgart |
| 2022 | First Round – Lost to Daria Kasatkina |
| 2023 | Second Round – Lost to Anastasia Potapova |
| 2024 | Quarterfinal – Lost to Marta Kostyuk |
| 2025 | Quarterfinal – Lost to Jasmine Paolini |
The world number three will be hoping to improve this at this year’s tournament, where she will play Liudmila Samsonova after receiving an automatic bye to the second round.
Gauff should be confident ahead of her meeting against Samsonova, as she has won all three previous matches she has played against the Russian.
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