Steve Johnson claims why he thinks Coco Gauff may be feeling annoyed before the French Open even starts next week

Follow us on Google Discover

Coco Gauff has now reached back-to-back clay court finals, but fell just short at both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.

Jasmine Paolini labelled Gauff ‘incredible’ after triumphing 6-4, 6-2 in their Italian Open final in Rome on Saturday.

That defeat came after Gauff lost the Madrid Open final 6-3, 7-6(7-3) to Aryna Sabalenka earlier this month.

The American has, however, risen to number two in the WTA rankings after her strong runs, with Sabalenka remaining in top spot.

That rise comes as the French Open nears, with the second Grand Slam of 2025 getting underway later this month.

Steve Johnson thinks Coco Gauff may be annoyed before the French Open

Gauff lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek in 2022 before winning the 2023 US Open final against Sabalenka.

Former player Steve Johnson has now discussed Gauff’s displays ahead of Roland Garros, saying on the Nothing Major podcast: “If you are looking at this from a big picture I would say everybody but her right now is thinking what a great couple of tournaments this has been, to make the final, get back on track, win a lot of matches and give yourself a chance to compete for a title.

READ MORE: The American player flying ‘completely under the radar’ who is being tipped to do damage at the French Open by John Isner

“She might still be feeling a little bit of annoyance that she lost both finals, which as a competitor you would expect nothing less.

“But in the big picture of where her year started to where it’s going now she has really turned it around playing some great tennis.”

Steve Johnson says top players have Iga Swiatek concern at the French Open

Gauff clinched her only Grand Slam singles title to date in New York, but she can rely on doubles success for a confidence boost in Paris.

The American partnered Katerina Siniakova in French Open doubles last year, with the pair beating Paolini and Sara Errani in the final.

READ MORE: Coco Gauff shares what she thinks will happen if she plays against Iga Swiatek at the French Open next month

But the singles event has been dominated by one player and one player only, with Swiatek winning the last three French Open titles.

The Pole has also won four of the last five, but a poor run of form means Swiatek has dropped to fifth place in the WTA rankings.

It means the five-time Grand Slam champion will be the French Open fifth seed, and could face any of the top four as early as the quarter-finals.

Discussing that scenario, Johnson said: “I think going into the French Open for the women’s draw, I think the one through four is a little concerned that Iga will be the fifth seed in Roland Garros.

“It doesn’t matter that she hasn’t had the best year, I don’t think anybody really wants to play her in the quarter-finals.

“If you are one through four, you are hoping you are on the other side, because that is a quarter-final you do not want to see.”