Coco Gauff could avenge latest defeat as tennis icon shares French Open verdict
Rennae Stubbs believes that Coco Gauff could face off against Jasmine Paolini at Roland-Garros in what would mark a rematch of the Italian Open final.
Coco Gauff may not have to wait long to exact revenge on rival Jasmine Paolini.
Last week, Gauff looked to be in dominant form after defeating Emma Raducanu in the last 16. But her hopes to secure the Italian Open title were brutally crushed by Paolini, who bested her in the final in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
The 2023 U.S. Open winner didn’t leave Rome completely empty handed, however, walking away with $510K in prize money and 650 ranking points.
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Fortunately for Gauff, she could soon have a golden opportunity to avenge her recent loss to Paolini. On the latest episode of her podcast, former doubles No. 1 Rennae Stubbs asserted that she wouldn’t be surprised if the pair once again duke it out in the French Open.
“I do think there is a real chance that Coco [Gauff] and [Jasmine] Paolini could be in the finals,” she said. “The way they play their game.”
This is hardly the first time that Stubbs has heaped praise on Gauff and Paolini. Taking to social media following their faceoff in the Italian Open, she commended both players for their performance in the tournament.
“Jasmine Paolini, @JasminePaolini huge congratulations on winning another WTA 1000 and doing this one in your home country! Wowza! What a week and what a smile. No one more deserving,” Stubbs wrote on X. “Another incredible week for @CocoGauff as well. French Open is going to be REALLY interesting this year!!!”
Despite falling to Paolini in heartbreaking fashion, Gauff harbors no ill will towards the Italian. The 21-year-old handled her loss in Rome with grace, stating post-match: "Congrats, Jasmine, on this incredible achievement. You're an incredible person and player. It's always tough playing you. Good luck in the doubles final. I hope you guys can take it home."
“Two results I’m obviously pretty disappointed in, but overall I have a lot of confidence going into Roland Garros and hopefully I can get to the final there and win it,” said Gauff.
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“I think I saw Daniil [Medvedev] say it’s better to lose in finals than first round, so I can agree with that.”
On the heels of Gauff’s back-to-back final defeats — she additionally finished runner-up in the Madrid Open behind Aryna Sabalenka — the American believes she has what it takes to get over the hump in France.
“Two results I’m obviously pretty disappointed in, but overall I have a lot of confidence going into Roland Garros and hopefully I can get to the final there and win it,” Gauff said. “I think I saw Daniil [Medvedev] say it’s better to lose in finals than first round, so I can agree with that.”
Speaking to the Tennis Channel, Gauff insisted that winning another Grand Slam is more important to her than being atop the world rankings. "It's not really that much in my mind, cause I really want another Slam," she said. "It's not something that I think about, I'd rather take away some more Slam trophies."
