Jim Courier tells Coco Gauff what she is going to have to do if she wants to win the French Open this year

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Coco Gauff has made a strong start to her latest French Open venture, winning her first round match in straight sets.

Gauff is the second seed at the 2025 French Open, with the American defeating Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2 first up.

Chris Evert noticed a high unforced error count from Gauff in her opening match, which arrived after she lost the Italian Open final.

Gauff was defeated by WTA number one Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final earlier this month, and suffered the same fate against Jasmine Paolini in Rome.

But she has returned to winning ways, with the 2023 US Open champion now taking on Tereza Valentova in round two at Roland Garros.

Jim Courier tells Coco Gauff what she needs to do to win the French Open

Venus Williams thinks Gauff is too hard on herself, with former world number one Jim Courier now sharing his latest verdict on the current WTA number two.

Discussing what he thinks she needs to do to win the French Open, he said on TNT Sports: “She is going to have to lift her level. She has played well in the clay court season but she hasn’t played well in the finals.

READ MORE: Coco Gauff gives her verdict on no female players being scheduled to play the night matches at the French Open so far

“So the clay court finals have been bedevilling to her here in Europe, so she is going to need to find some even better form considering how well Sabalenka has been playing and [Iga] Swiatek I think is going to catch a gear here too.”

What Tim Henman thinks of Coco Gauff on clay this season

Gauff has managed to rise to number two in the WTA rankings thanks to her recent form, but she would have undoubtedly preferred to have won at least one of her two finals.

The 21-year-old should, however, at least take great confidence from those runs, with her impressive clay court form arriving at the perfect time.

READ MORE: Coco Gauff and Madison Keys disagree over which male player is going to win the French Open this year

But she has already established herself on the surface, having lost the 2022 French Open final to Swiatek.

And the Pole could well be in her way of success once more this year, with Swiatek representing a real threat despite her lack of form.

She has won the last three titles at Roland Garros, but former British number one Tim Henman believes Gauff is showing early signs of potentially ending that dominance this year.

“I think there has been an interesting narrative around Gauff in this clay court season,” Henman commented.

“She made the final in Madrid and she made the final in Rome and everyone has been saying her second serve has been really poor and her forehand looks unstable, she is shanking it and making unforced errors.

“And to a certain extent that is true. However, she is making it to the finals not even playing her best. I think that is where she shows the competitive spirit and mental fortitude to keep fighting so when she does click into form because she is that good a player that is when I think she can challenge for the title.”