Coco Gauff has made a prediction about Eva Lys after practicing with her in Stuttgart.
Gauff is one of the favorites for the title in Stuttgart, particularly as world number one Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the tournament.
Ahead of her first match of the clay court season, Gauff has been active on the practice courts, including hitting with world number 78 and tournament wildcard Lys.
Gauff has played Lys once before, and she appears to have been impressed by what she has seen from the German.
Coco Gauff claims Eva Lys has ‘a lot of potential’ after practicing with her
Lys has been ranked as high as world number 39, but a knee injury has disrupted her start to the 2026 season.
After recently making her return to competition, Gauff showed support to Lys following her defeat at the Charleston Open and she was asked about the German following their practice session together.
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Gauff revealed that she noticed how well Lys hits from the baseline, before claiming that she has a lot of potential to move towards the top of the rankings.
“Yeah, Eva Lys is a great player, great person,” Gauff said in her press conference. “Someone I got to know over the course since Australian Open. That’s been really cool. It’s our first time practicing together. Yeah, I think she’s a great player.
“One thing I noticed today, she holds the baseline really well. She stands really close. Doesn’t really miss a lot from it. Strokes are super clean. She has a lot of potential.
“I think the main thing is making sure she stays healthy. But yeah, I think she can beat anyone on any given day. I think she’s proven that with her run in Australia, also United Cup. She had a pretty good United Cup, too.
“I think once she’s healthy and finds her form, we’ll see her in the top of the rankings for sure.”
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Eva Lys responds to Coco Gauff’s comments about her
Gauff’s comments were relayed to Lys in her own press conference, and she was asked if she thinks her baseline game is a strength of hers on clay.
Definitely. I feel like my court position is a strength in general,” responded Lys. “This is something I really try to work on a lot.
“Especially hitting with big players like Coco, I find it very hard to keep the position, so every time I get an opportunity and possibility to play or practice with players like that, it definitely helps my game.
“So for clay, this is one comment I get from so many players, How the hell are you staying that close to the, yeah, to the baseline?
“I have been playing like that my whole life. I feel like that’s also a reason why I feel very comfortable on hard court and on clay, because I also grew up on clay, and this is my way of playing. So I’m definitely trying to work on the strengths I have on that surface.”
Lys will hope that her baseline game is firing in her first round match at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she will look to win just her second match this year and first since January.
The 24-year-old will play against another one of her friends in Paula Badosa, who also received a wildcard to play in Stuttgart.
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