Coco Gauff’s big problem has been identified after her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka, ‘I think even she would say that’

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Coco Gauff remains trophy-less on the WTA Tour in 2025, following her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid.

The American star began the year with ambitions of becoming the WTA Tour’s number one-ranked player, having finished 2024 on a high.

Unfortunately for Gauff, she hasn’t been able to show that form as of yet, and hadn’t appeared in a tour-level semi-final before heading to the Madrid Open.

Turning things around in the Spanish capital, Gauff stunned Iga Swiatek, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to her first clay-court final in three years.

In the final, Gauff lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets, as her Belarusian rival tied their head-to-head at 5-5.

Speaking after the match, one former tennis star gave her verdict on Gauff, highlighting what her biggest issue is.

Annabel Croft says Coco Gauff would agree she needs to find ‘consistency’ on the WTA Tour

Working as a pundit for Sky Sports, Annabel Croft explained the issue that has troubled the American for several years.

“We have seen progress this week, but the trouble is, throughout the last two or three seasons, even, it fluctuates,” she said.

“When we always talk about the very top champions, the icons of the sport who have multiple Grand Slams, they have a level of consistency that is always there.

“Her’s definitely fluctuates. It was much better this week, and we started to get excited again.

“But I think even she would say that herself, that she wants to find that level of consistency of performance. It’s not enough to have it one week here, then drop again, then maybe have a run of three bad tournaments, and then back up again. I think she would like to find that.”

Her inconsistency can be seen clearly when comparing her performances to Sabalenka’s this year.

The world number one has won five or more matches at five different tournaments in 2025, reaching six finals, whereas Gauff has done so on just one occasion.

Croft then revealed what she was surprised by in Gauff’s defeat to Sabalenka in Madrid.

“We always feel lurking beneath the surface, under the most extreme surface, the gremlins come out, and they came out a little bit today,” she said.

“I wasn’t expecting that actually. I really did think she was going to win the match today.

“I thought she would find a way to bring that high level into this match today, but the start did not help her.”

Gauff’s serve deserted her against Sabalenka, as she went a break down early on in the first set and never completely recovered.

• 8 Double faults
• 55% First serve
• 57% win rate on first serve
• 53% win rate on second serve

What’s next for Coco Gauff after tough Madrid Open final defeat?

It’s not necessarily a case of going back to the drawing board for Gauff, as there are plenty of positives to take from a strong stint in Madrid.

However, as Croft mentioned, it will certainly be interesting to see if she can buck the trend and back up her run to the final with a strong performance at her next tournament.

Gauff will next travel to Rome for the Italian Open, an event she’s enjoyed success at before, reaching the semi-finals in 2021 and 2024.

In 2024, Gauff lost to Swiatek, 4-6, 3-6, in the semi-finals, suffering her fourth straight clay court defeat against the Pole.

Having now beaten Swiatek on the surface for the first time, Gauff will be feeling much more confident should the pair face off at this year’s tournament.

The Italian Open is the final event before Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the year.

Gauff has finished as runner-up in Paris once before, again losing out to Swiatek back in 2022.

Only time will tell if Gauff can carry her momentum through from Madrid and enjoy better tournaments in Rome and Paris this time around.

The 2025 Italian Open begins on Monday, May 5, before the French Open gets underway on Sunday, May 25.