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Ex-WTA Pro Explains Why French Open Champion Coco Gauff is Not Favorite to Win Wimbledon

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Gouri Das | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 10:05 AM ET

Coco Gauff has secured 18 wins in the clay swing this season. She progressed to three consecutive finals, winning her career’s first French Open singles title by beating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.

The grass swing has started. But, Gauff has never clinched a title on the surface. And at Wimbledon, she has never reached the quarterfinals as thrice she was defeated in the fourth round, including last year. The two-time Grand Slam singles champion was defeated by compatriot Emma Navarro in straight sets.

Sabalenka is a two-time semifinalist in the grass-court Major and had skipped the tournament last year due to an injury. The World No.1 too has never tasted success on grass. Former WTA pro Laura Robson picked Sabalenka ahead of the American to win the third Major event of the season.

I don’t know who is favorite in the women’s Wimbledon event. I would probably say Sabalenka because she’s done well there in the past but for Coco, it’s been a surface which hasn’t quite given her the results that the other Slams have.
Laura Robson told Sky Sports

Sabalenka lost both the Grand Slam finals this season. Before Paris, Madison Keys denied her the three-peat at the Australian Open.

At the French Open, Sabalenka was chasing her fourth title on clay after her three victories at the Madrid Open. She has clinched 17 wins on the surface this season as she made the finals of events, winning just the WTA 1000 title in the Spanish capital by beating the 21-year-old.

Gauff now holds a 6-5 head-to-head record over the three-time Grand Slam singles champion after her French Open triumph. She is also the youngest American to take home the clay-court title since the great Serena Williams in 2002.

Paul Annacone lauds Coco Gauff’s mentality during her French Open final against Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka took a 4-1 lead in the first set but Coco Gauff changed the momentum by mounting a comeback and eventually tying the score to force a decider which she eventually lost.

According to Roger Federer‘s former coach Paul Annacone, Sabalenka was rattled when she failed to capitalize on the lead. He praised Gauff for playing the French Open final with calm and composure. He highlighted the difference between Gauff and Sabalenka’s emotions during the Tennis Channel Live.

You can see she is starting to talk to herself, and somehow Coco hangs in there gets out of this game. And what happens was really interesting, because you look at moments and see what the players do right. Coco, look at the composure, look at her face. She somehow gets in, loses that tie-break, and shouldn’t, but her expression never changes.

The French Open was Gauff’s first title since the 2024 WTA Finals where she defeated Qinwen Zheng to clinch the year-end championship for the first time. Sabalenka, however, was chasing her fourth title of the season following her victories at the Brisbane International, Miami Open, and Madrid Open.

Apart from these events and her defeat to Gauff in Paris, she also reached the finals of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Stuttgart Open. Before this year, the 27-year-old had never progressed to the final of the clay-court Major (reached the semifinals in 2023).

Gauff, on the other hand, played her career’s first Grand Slam final at the 2022 French Open where she lost the title to now four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek. Gauff, who has now won two singles titles on clay, has also one French Open doubles title under her belt. She and Katerina Siniakova beat Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani in the final last year.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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