After a disappointing end to her campaign in Stuttgart, Coco Gauff will now set her sights on the first WTA 1000 clay-court tournament of the season in Madrid.
Gauff lost to Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open, where she clinched just one win to get her clay swing underway.
The American enjoyed a fantastic stint on the surface last year, reaching the final of both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open before capturing her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
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Last time in the Spanish capital, Gauff beat the likes of Iga Swiatek and Mirra Andreeva before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
On Monday, the draw for the 2026 edition of the Madrid Open was announced, and the 22-year-old has a fairly comfortable route to the quarterfinals.
Coco Gauff’s draw at the 2026 Madrid Open
Seeded third at the Madrid Open, Gauff will receive a bye in round one before playing either a qualifier or Oksana Selekhmeteva in round two.
Potential third-round opponents come in the form of a qualifier, Elsa Jacquemot and Sorana Cirstea, with Gauff holding a 2-0 winning record against the latter.
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Gauff also holds a winning record versus each of her possible fourth-round opponents, Liudmila Samsonova, Maria Sakkari and Linda Noskova.
Things get much trickier in the quarterfinals, where Gauff could be faced with Jessica Pegula or Victoria Mboko, both of whom have beaten her in their last tour-level clashes.
Then, there’s a good chance Gauff will have to battle past both world number two Elena Rybakina and number one Sabalenka in the semifinals and final, respectively.
Coco Gauff’s results at the Madrid Open over the years
Until last year’s visit to the championship match, Gauff had struggled to make a deep run at the Madrid Open.
In 2021, she made her tournament debut and crashed out in the opening round with a loss to former world number one Karolina Pliskova.
Gauff tallied consecutive third-round finishes in 2022 and 2023 at both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.
Then, finally, the US star recorded a lengthy campaign at the WTA 1000 competition, dropping just one set en route to the final.
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