Mats Wilander says what he finds ‘a bit worrying’ about Coco Gauff despite her reaching the Roland Garros semi-final

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Coco Gauff improved her remarkable Roland Garros record with a hard-fought win in her quarterfinal match.

The 21-year-old traveled to Paris with title ambitions, having reached the finals of both 2025 WTA 1000 events on clay.

She advanced to her fifth consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal without dropping a set, setting up an intriguing clash with her fellow American.

After dropping the first set to Madison Keys, 6-7, Gauff fought back to win in three, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.

The world number two will now look ahead to the semi-finals, as a former ATP Tour star highlights what he found ‘worrying’ about Gauff’s quarterfinal showing against Keys.

Mats Wilander found Coco Gauff’s level ‘a bit worrying’ and says it won’t be enough to win Roland Garros

Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, former three-time champion Mats Wilander gave his verdict on Gauff’s performance.

“I think there were some quarterfinal nerves, but I also think it’s to do with playing Madison Keys. If you go to Madison Keys’ forehand, you know there’s a chance she is going to go for a winner, so the court becomes really small,” he said.

“You also know with your second serve that if you land it in to the Keys forehand there is a chance that the point is over and I know that feeling, it’s a terrible feeling when you don’t know if you are going to get another shot or not and that can creep into the rest of your game.

“But it is a bit worrying that she can go down so low sometimes, and then it’s amazing she can come up that high.”

With that in mind, Wilander predicted whether Gauff can win the tournament if she continues to play at the level she showed against Keys.

“Is it good enough to win the tournament? Most probably not,” he said.

“She is going to be down in that match if she plays Aryna Sabalenka or most probably Iga Swiatek, so she needs to raise her game a bit if she is to win here.”

Wilander wasn’t the only tennis legend to point out the nervy nature of the quarterfinal match, as former world number one Chris Evert said the same on commentary for TNT Sports.

“It’s not a high quality match, I’m going to repeat that,” she said.

“It’s suspenseful and everything, but there are just so many errors and nerves flying around. The occasion is huge, the pride of both of them being American and winning this match.”

She reiterated her point after the match, explaining how Gauff managed to turn things around.

“It was a very nervy match. Both players playing each other, two Americans, they couldn’t find their games in the first two sets,” said Evert.

“They were gutsy, they were fighters, and in the third set, Coco found it. Madison is for sure disappointed with her play, she had her chances for sure.

“But it’s Coco who is mentally the toughest. In that third set made two unforced errors, play is about unforced errors, maybe more so than winners.”

Gauff will now look ahead to the semi-finals, where she’ll take on either Mirra Andreeva or French Wild Card Lois Boisson.

Coco Gauff’s remarkable record at the French Open

At just 21 years of age, Gauff has now qualified for her third French Open semi-final, a feat very few can match.

Of the five players remaining in the French Open draw, only Iga Swiatek has won more matches than Gauff in Paris.

Gauff and Swiatek have played one another three times previously at the French Open, as the Pole accounts for three of Gauff’s five defeats at the tournament.

• 2024 French Open SF – Iga Swiatek beat Coco Gauff, 6-2, 6-4
• 2023 French Open QF – Iga Swiatek beat Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-2
• 2022 French Open F – Iga Swiatek beat Coco Gauff, 6-1, 6-3

If Gauff is to win her maiden French Open title in 2025, she may well have to overcome Swiatek in the final.

Gauff will play Andreeva or Boisson, and Swiatek will play Sabalenka in the French Open semi-finals on Thursday, June 5.