Coco Gauff admits she may change racket setup after Rome win

In her post-match press conference, Gauff was asked how she felt about her serve against Valentova.

“I think it was okay,” she replied. “I think I need to lower my tension. I felt like I was having to try so hard to hit big serves.

“I thought my kick and my second serve was big. I missed some because she was pressuring my serve.

“I definitely think Madrid is how I would like to serve. I’m just trying to carry that over from Madrid to here, but it’s definitely different conditions.”

She later spoke with Tennis Channel about her performance and how she’s feeling on clay this season.

“I mean, it was pretty good today,” Gauff said. “I think I was not completely happy in some moments with how I was going out there, but overall, I think I stepped up my game when it mattered, and I’m happy with just being able to close out that second set.”

Coco Gauff open to another clay final before Roland Garros title defence

“I feel like Roland Garros is a tournament I can usually do well, regardless of how the momentum is going into it, so I think I put less weight on these two tournaments [Madrid Open and Italian Open], honestly,” Gauff told reporters.

“But it feels great to enter Roland Garros after making a final, so I would like to maybe do that again.

“Otherwise, I find my groove this part of the swing, and hopefully in Paris, I can continue to show up for myself.”

Reflecting on her first experience defending a Slam title at the 2024 US Open, Gauff said she’s learned a lot since then.

“I learned from last time going into the US Open as defending champion,” she said. “So I’m hoping this time I’m a little bit more chill, which I think I do because your body experiences something before it knows how to react and you train your mind.”

This year’s defence begins in earnest against Solana Sierra in Rome’s third round. The path back to Paris is long but familiar now for Gauff – one step at a time.