“She has won on clay and on hard. I can definitely see that she can win Wimbledon.” Former WTA legend and 18-time slam queen Chris Evert is pretty much confident of Coco Gauff‘s abilities going into the third major of the season. Especially after the 21-year-old’s historic French Open triumph two weeks ago. At Court Philippe-Chatrier, she bested World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the summit clash. With two slams to her credit now, the World No.2 is being touted as the potential winner at the Wimbledon too. However, another former tennis icon believes a dark horse may eventually perform better than Gauff on grass.
During an episode of the Tennis Channel live podcast, dated June 17, ex-American pro Andy Roddick shared his take on the WTA favorites to lift the trophy at the All England Club. The names picked included Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Madison Keys, and Karolina Muchova. Commenting on Gauff’s chances, Roddick initially agreed, saying, “We’ll see. Confidence coming off of Roland Garros. I think as far as the surface match up, the book on Coco hasn’t changed because she’s won Roland Garros.” However, he did throw light on her weakness, which still remain unresolved. Per him, her “entry point to the forehand with pace is still going to be a thing that people try to do against her consistently. The easiest surface to do that on, in my opinion against her, is on grass.”
Moreover, Roddick went past across Gauff to prefer a different American name. He also didn’t fully agree with the aforementioned contenders as favorites. Plus, he was shocked to see no names from last season’s Wimbledon edition who performed well. “But like these odds. What the hell are we doing? We have no Paolini, we have no Krejčíková. We’ve just deleted last year’s final.” Also, Roddick believes that instead of Gauff, her compatriot Jessica Pegula may have brighter chances to make a solid impression at the Wimbledon. He concluded, “Jess Pegula can be an absolute monster on grass, with her shot and the way it kind of goes to the court and her ability to switch direction. We need to review those.”
Image Credits: Jessica Pegula/Instagram
For the uninitiated, Pegula performed well last year on grass. Ahead of the Wimbledon, she was able to win a title in Berlin. In the final battle, she defeated Anna Kalinskaya with a score line of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.
Roddick’s not given weightage to Gauff, despite the French Open victory, maybe due to her overall struggles on grass. Especially at the Wimbledon in the last few years. Since making her event debut in 2019, she’s failed to go past the fourth round. Whereas on other surfaces, she’s been able to win trophies (Roland Garros on clay, US Open on hard). On the other hand, Pegula’s managed to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club back in 2023.
However, it seems Gauff’s still determined to perform well this time on grass. But how’s she going to do it? The World No.2 has now got a strategy.
Coco Gauff reveals key tactics to overcome the grass challenge
When Coco Gauff appeared at the All England Club last time, it was in 2024. But similar to previous campaigns, she failed to make a deep run. In the fourth round, compatriot Emma Navarro beat her in straight sets with a score line of 6-4, 6-3. “We had a game plan going in, and I felt that it wasn’t working. I don’t always ask for advice from the box, but today was one of those rare moments where I felt I didn’t have solutions,” Gauff reacted on her loss, as reported by the New York Post in July 2024.
But it seems the French Open win has increased her confidence level. Perhaps that’s why she thinks she can go the distance this season. During an interview with Vogue, she revealed, “Grass has been trial and error for me. The biggest thing, I think, is just to be more aggressive.”
The American WTA star added, “On clay, you have a little more time; you can slide, you can use the height of the ball’s bounce a bit more. That’s less so on grass.” Hence, her main goal for this year will be to play “more aggressively… and I want to serve a lot bigger.”
To prepare in the best way possible, Gauff will compete in Berlin this week on grass. Interestingly, last season she succeeded in reaching the semis at this event. But compatriot and eventual winner Pegula stopped her campaign. It will be intriguing to see how the French Open champion performs this time.
What are your thoughts on Gauff’s prospects on grass in 2025 season? Will she make a huge impression at the Wimbledon? Let us know in the comments below.
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