Coco Gauff will search for a second Grand Slam title when she enters the French Open at the end of May.
The American is comfortable on the clay and she has shown what it takes to have a deep run at Roland Garros.
The 21-year-old reached the final back in 2022, but was outplayed by Iga Swiatek, who has won four of the last five editions of the clay court Grand Slam.
It will not be easy, but Gauff will fancy her chances of having a strong run in the French capital this year, especially if she can build on her run to the Madrid Open final.
Steve Johnson rates Coco Gauff’s chances of winning the French Open
Following her exit from the 2025 Australian Open, Gauff has struggled on the WTA Tour.
She suffered opening round exit exits at the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, and failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals at Indian Wells, Miami and Stuttgart.
But after Gauff finished runner-up in Madrid, she has put herself back in contention for the title, former ATP player Steve Johnson thinks the World number four has a strong chance of success in Paris.
“She definitely has a chance. She is one of, if not the best competitor, and the most mentally stable – week in, week out, day in and day out on the women’s side. She shows up and competes,” Johnson said on the Nothing Major podcast.
“She may not have some of her best tennis. We know her forehand is her weaker side and sometimes the serve can kind of go off the rails as well. But when she steps off court, she never seems to have any attitude issues.
“So she goes out there to compete and across men’s and women’s tennis, some of the most important attributes to have is just to go out there and compete point in and point out.
“I think she is going to take a lot of confidence from this Madrid final that she is starting to play her best tennis and I do think she is the third favourite to get to a French Open title.
“For her and where she is at, three or four at the French, it’s going to be draw dependent. Does one of Iga and Sabalenka lose early and maybe get through one of those? I think it would be tough to get through both in a tournament like that.”
Coco Gauff says something is happening on clay before the French Open that she had not experienced before
Gauff has won the US Open but her next most successful Grand Slam is Roland Garros.
The American reached the final in Paris back in 2022 without dropping a set and at the age of 18. She lost the final 1-6, 3-6 to Swiatek, who she convincingly defeated to reach the 2025 Madrid Open final.
She has also reached another semi-final and has two quarter-finals appearances in Paris, meaning she tends to be at her best by the time the Roland Garros comes around.
But in 2025, Gauff reached the Madrid Open final for the first time and she is pleased to have found her groove earlier in the clay court season than usual.
“When I was younger I always thought my best surface was hard and then I got on tour and I thought my best surface was on clay and then the US Open and I was like maybe it is hard!,” Gauff told Tennis Channel.
“But I don’t know, there’s something about clay that I have always felt comfortable on. I feel like this year more than ever I am moving the best that I have, especially so early in the clay season. I usually really don’t find it until Roland Garros, but I feel like I have found it here [Madrid] with my movement.
“It’s a really physical surface and I think if you are not physically ready it kind of exposes you and I think it rewards me because I am a physical player and I do like to move and I can be aggressive, but also sit there and grind if I have to.”
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