Coco Gauff is among the players turning her attention to the clay-court swing, although not immediately.
Her fellow American Jessica Pegula is playing at the Charleston Open, with the WTA 500 tournament joined by a WTA 250 event in Bogota, kicking off the clay season.
While Gauff can’t exactly afford to rest entirely on her laurels, the 22-year-old does boast a fantastic recent history on clay.
And that should give her plenty of confidence going into the 2026 clay-court swing, where big success is definitely possible for the new world number three.
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Coco Gauff claimed the most WTA clay wins in 2025
With her fantastic total of 18, Gauff topped the pile for WTA-level clay-court wins in the 2025 season, as per OptaAce.
It represented her highest career tally in a single calendar year, which previously stood at 16 from the 2021 campaign.
She edged out her rival Sabalenka by one, with her 17 followed by the 16 of Elina Svitolina, and the 13 of both Jasmine Paolini and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Gauff only took part in four tournaments, reaching the Stuttgart quarterfinals and the Madrid and Rome finals, before going all the way at the French Open.
| Wins | Player |
| 18 | Coco Gauff |
| 17 | Aryna Sabalenka |
| 16 | Elina Svitolina |
| 13 | Jasmine Paolini, Ekaterina Alexandrova |
What is Coco Gauff’s Grand Slam history on clay?
Importantly, after a tough period earlier in the year, more recent history is also very much on Gauff’s side alongside her efforts on clay in 2025.
The American has a 16-6 record for the 2026 season, most recently battling hard to reach the final of the Miami Open.
Gauff was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka, but she did famously win their most important clay-court battle so far.
Prove us wrong…
The former defeated the latter in last year’s epic French Open final, coming from behind to win 6-7(5-7), 6-2, 6-4.
Indeed, clay represents her most successful Grand Slam surface overall, with Gauff having also reached the 2022 final.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 2022 | French Open | Clay | Iga Swiatek | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 2023 | US Open | Hard | Aryna Sabalenka | 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 2025 | French Open | Clay | Aryna Sabalenka | 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–4 |
She lost that to serial clay winner Iga Swiatek, and intriguingly lost the doubles final that year too, alongside compatriot Jessica Pegula.
However, she has again tasted major success on the surface in that format, winning the 2024 French Open doubles title with Katerina Siniakova.
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