Coco Gauff explains decision to enter tournament | Golf News

Coco Gauff is kicking off her clay season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, an indoor WTA 500 event where she has never superior past the quarterfinals.

In current years, Gauff has been ranked extremely enough to earn a bye through the opening spherical. However, she has never strung together two consecutive wins in Stuttgart, and will probably be trying to flip that around in 2026.

Most American gamers usually decide for the Charleston Open, a WTA 500 tournament performed on inexperienced clay the week after the Miami Open, before bypassing Stuttgart and heading to Europe for the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and Roland Garros. Yet Gauff has remained dedicated to the indoor clay-court event, despite admitting she did not “do well” in Stuttgart.

The world No. 3 is the reigning French Open champion and thrives on clay. With her main goal being to peak at Roland Garros, she is reluctant to overhaul her schedule, even though she has been tempted to compete on home soil.

“I mean, the main thing is, I mean, I’ve always done well at Roland Garros. Last couple years have been quarters or better. Last few years, semis or better. Anytime, that’s the goal, is to peak at that tournament. That’s the main motivation keeping that schedule, because it has worked well for me,” she explained.

Gauff, the second seed at this week’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, is also optimistic that her fortunes can flip around.

She continued: “Although I don’t typically do well in Stuttgart, it’s not a tournament I necessarily thrive at. Hopefully, this year can change.

“Miami was a tournament I did not thrive at, and I did effectively. I’d love to do better right here. The main factor I care about is Roland Garros and how I do there. That’s the main motive for the motivation of that.

“There’s definitely years, there are times I think about maybe playing [Charleston] and not playing here. I don’t think there’s a scenario where I would do both because it’s a lot of tennis. This tournament treats me well. I like coming here. Even though I don’t do well here, I still have a good time here. I think that’s all that matters.”

One issue behind Gauff’s struggles in Stuttgart could also be that the tournament is performed indoors, with a clay floor that differs from those used at other occasions during this stretch of the season. She explained: “I think the clay is unique here.

“It’s a little bit slippery, so it is laborious to modify to. Obviously, the indoor element is one thing I’m not used to seeing until the end of the 12 months. It’s different for sure. It’s positively the least snug tournament I really feel on court, on the clay, during the clay season.

“But I think it’s great to start a tournament where it feels a little bit more challenging. It makes the rest of the season feel a little bit easier.”

Gauff was granted a bye straight into the spherical of 16 once more and will take on world No. 21 Liudmila Samsonova in her first match. If she advances to the quarter-finals, the two-time Grand Slam champion could encounter seventh seed Karolina Muchova, against whom she holds an unbeaten report.