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Gauff Wary of Grass Record as Wimbledon Begins
🇸🇬 Singapore /Sports

Gauff Wary of Grass Record as Wimbledon Begins

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • World number seven Coco Gauff admits she lacks confidence on grass courts ahead of Wimbledon, where she has never progressed beyond the fourth round.
  • Gauff faces a challenging draw, potentially meeting Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka, and acknowledges Wimbledon has not offered her favorable matchups.
  • She supports player protests over prize money, stating that while the recent increase is welcome, it still falls short of player expectations, particularly for those outside the top rankings.

Coco Gauff, currently ranked world number seven, approaches Wimbledon with a notable lack of confidence on grass, a surface that has historically challenged her. Despite six previous appearances at the All England Club, Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam where she has not reached the quarterfinals.

Yeah, we don't have the best relationship.

— Coco GauffGauff describes her feelings about playing on grass courts.

Her preparation has been further complicated by early exits at recent grass-court events, including a first-round defeat at the 2025 Wimbledon and a round of 16 loss at the Berlin Open. Gauff described her relationship with grass as "not the best," acknowledging that while she possesses the ability to play well on it, confidence is the key factor she needs to develop.

I always have, like, fond memories on the grass. I obviously had a couple (of) fourth rounds here. I definitely think that I have the ability to play on it. I think it's more about the confidence.

— Coco GauffGauff reflects on her past performances and the mental aspect of playing on grass.

Looking ahead, Gauff faces a difficult path in the tournament. Her opening match is against world number 79 Tamara Korpatsch, with potential later-round encounters against fourth seed Jessica Pegula and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff candidly admitted that she has not had the most favorable draws at Wimbledon, which she views as an additional hurdle.

Also, I'm not going to lie, I haven't (had) about the best draws here at Wimbledon. I think that's also been tough. Yeah, something that I'm learning to play on. I don't think it's a natural surface for me but we're going to make it natural.

— Coco GauffGauff discusses the difficulty of her tournament draws and her efforts to adapt to the grass surface.

Beyond her on-court prospects, Gauff voiced her support for player protests regarding prize money. While acknowledging Wimbledon's record 20 percent increase in its total purse this year, she argued that the rise does not fully meet player expectations. Gauff highlighted the financial struggles of players ranked outside the top 100 and 200, many of whom are recovering from injuries and require greater support for the overall quality of the sport.

I think people have to remember there are a lot of players below the rankings who are very good, top 100, top 200 in the world of their sport. They come back from injury and are not necessarily getting that support. Also we ask some of the slams to participate in the welfare programmes that we want just to help the quality of our sport as a whole.

— Coco GauffGauff explains the rationale behind player concerns regarding prize money and welfare programs.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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