Coco Gauff crashed out in the third round of the French Open on Saturday.
Gauff’s title defence in Paris came to an end when faced with Anastasia Potapova, who beat her in three sets, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
The American, who had won her first two matches at the tournament convincingly, suffered her worst finish at Roland Garros since 2020 with the loss.
What does Coco Gauff need to improve to become a major champion once again?
While Gauff has shown signs of improvement with her serve, former Australian Open doubles champion Chanda Rubin thinks the 22-year-old has another issue in her game she needs to sort out.
Chanda Rubin reacts to Coco Gauff’s exit from Roland Garros
Speaking on Tennis Channel, Rubin said: “Yeah, I think the only, maybe issue you might take with a match like that is that Gauff gets a little reactionary instead of acting on the ball.
“And against players who hit a little bit bigger, who can open up the court quicker in rallies and do it consistently with good precision, she can have some problems with, especially if it’s not a great day, which a lot of days aren’t.
“She can win it with her legs, but if an opponent, like Potapova, is able to catch fire and start finding those areas of the court, it can be tough to defend it.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
“So I think that’s one area that Gauff can improve in. I mean, we’re talking about very small margins here. Not a lot of players can take Gauff out of her game. This happens to be one style of opponent that can, and so it’s not that difficult.
“I won’t say it’s easy, but it’s not complicated to try to counter it. You’ve just got to work on some things specifically, and I think she’s gonna do that, I think she’s gonna come back, even better.”
Coco Gauff’s chance to gain points during the grass-court season
Having won the title last year, Gauff’s third-round exit at Roland Garros will see her lose 1870 WTA points.
In the live WTA rankings, she has dropped from fourth in the world to sixth, with compatriots Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula leapfrogging her.
While it was a disappointing end to her clay swing, Gauff now has a chance to move back up the rankings during the grass court season.
Last year, Gauff entered two grass-court competitions, the Berlin Open and Wimbledon, both of which she lost in her first match.
Grass has never been Gauff’s best surface, but a string of wins could see her pick up plenty of WTA points
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