Coco Gauff continues to struggle to find form on grass after her latest defeat.
Gauff suffered a surprise early exit at Roland Garros this year, and therefore had more time to prepare for the grass court season.
However, this did not help Gauff for her first singles match of the grass court season, as she lost her only match at the Berlin Open against Paula Badosa.
Gauff has not won a grass court singles match since 2024, and former doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs has explained the issues that she has in her game that are even more exposed on grass.
Rennae Stubbs claims Coco Gauff’s weaknesses are exposed more on grass
Stubbs discussed Gauff’s latest defeat in the latest edition of her podcast, pinpointing the grip she has on her forehand as an issue on grass.
The Australian also highlighted Gauff’s second serve as a weakness, with Stubbs claiming that her weaknesses are far more exposed on grass than on both hard and clay courts.
“I think the bottom line is with Coco is that her forehand grip is always going to be a problem on grass,” said Stubbs. “A very extreme Western grip on a fast surface is not ideal.
“And if she plays a [Dayana] Yastremska, who she lost in the first round of Wimbledon last year, or a big, flat hitting ball-striker on grass, it is a shot that is going to get taken advantage of, because on grass, like a Donna Vekic, you have to hit the ball flat and hard.
“And if you don’t, you better have, like Iga Swiatek, very quick, fast hands through the ball. And you have to go to get down and you have to release the racket head and you’ve got to get it through the ball on grass.
“And maybe a suggestion, you know, is she has to work out a way to get the backhand to backhand rally, and if the ball’s on her forehand and it’s deep, she has to really accelerate. And if she doesn’t, she has to try and get to the net on, you know, as many occasions as she can, so people that are taking advantage of her forehand can’t.
“And so, you know, look, she’s had some good wins on grass, but she has to serve very well, and the first serve is very good, but the second serve tends to sit there. Unfortunately, her weaknesses on grass are exposed a lot more than they are on a hard court or on a clay court.
“So, listen, more power to her, I hope she can get through some of these bigger matches against big hitting players, but certainly grass is going to be a test for her.”
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Despite only being 22 years old, Gauff will be making her seventh main draw appearance at Wimbledon this year.
Gauff made her Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon in 2019, when she was just 15 years old, beating Venus Williams en route to the fourth round in a huge breakthrough run.
However, the American has not been past the fourth round of Wimbledon since then, with the grass court major statistically Gauff’s worst major tournament.
Last year, Gauff lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Dayana Yastremska in a shock early exit after her Roland Garros title win in 2025.
| Year | Coco Gauff’s result at Wimbledon |
| 2019 | Fourth Round – Lost to Simona Halep |
| 2021 | Fourth Round – Lost to Angelique Kerber |
| 2022 | Third Round – Lost to Amanda Anisimova |
| 2023 | First Round – Lost to Sofia Kenin |
| 2024 | Fourth Round – Lost to Emma Navarro |
| 2025 | First Round – Lost to Dayana Yastremska |
Gauff’s last grass court singles win came at Wimbledon in 2024, where she beat Sonay Kartal in the third round.
The world number seven will be hoping to return to winning ways at Wimbledon this year, with the main draw beginning on Monday, June 29.
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