While Coco Gauff’s first French Open match this year didn’t go all smoothly, as the American forgot her rackets, which caused a small delay, once play began, she quickly established control.
Gauff defeated Olivia Gadecki, a solid player but certainly not one who should give her too much trouble. She broke immediately, taking a 3-0 lead, which was the right tone to set for the match.
In the end, Gauff won the opening and the second set 6-2 each, wrapping up the match in a little more than an hour. Overall, it wasn’t her absolute best level, but it was still pretty damn good.
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It was an easy win, what a player needs in these early rounds—get out, get a quick win, and get off the court, preserving energy. She had a strong preparation period, and it showed in this match because she knew what to do and was clearly comfortable on the court.
How did Coco Gauff play compared to Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka?
Coco Gauff is one of the top favorites to win this event, alongside defending champion Iga Swiatek and top seed Aryna Sabalenka. All of them had strong showings in the first round, but let’s compare how they performed.
Gauff won in her typical fashion—she forced her opponent to play a lot of shots, and Gadecki couldn’t handle it. The Australian finished with 33 unforced errors while trying to force the issue, which rarely works against Gauff, even for higher-level players.
On her side, the American served well, landing her first serve 68% of the time, but she showed a lack of patience, committing seven double faults. She played a balanced match in rallies, with 15 winners and 22 unforced errors, and converted 6/8 break points, which is a stellar rate.
Swiatek faced Rebeka Sramkova, a player who could technically be considered stronger than Gadecki at this point. It wasn’t a typical Swiatek beatdown, but she did enough to win 6-3, 6-3. She served decently, landing her first serve 67% of the time and committing only three double faults.
The Pole hit 25 winners and 17 unforced errors, which is a solid mark against an aggressive baseliner like Sramkova, but she converted only 4/10 break points—something to watch, as she has struggled with this in recent weeks, and it could hurt her in a close match.
Sabalenka was the most ruthless of the three, demolishing Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0. It was a fantastic display from the Belarusian, who tallied 30 winners and 17 unforced errors. She also served superbly, hitting five aces with only one double fault while landing her first serve 80% of the time.
Sabalenka struggled a bit on break points, converting five of 11, but overall, it was an excellent performance. Looking at these stats, Sabalenka seems to be the most impressive. But it’s just the first round—none of them faced major challenges, so the real comparison will come in later when they meet stronger opponents.
For now, all three have confirmed their status as favorites, and the upcoming matches will reveal who is most likely to go all the way.
“I played as good as I could” – Coco Gauff happy after first-round win
Coco Gauff spoke briefly with Mats Wilander after her match, and when asked to assess her performance, she seemed satisfied. It was a windy day in Paris, so she admitted that she didn’t expect a perfectly clean match, but overall, she was pleased with the victory and how she adapted.
“I think I played as good as I could with the conditions. It was very windy. I’m from Florida, so I’m used to the wind, and I knew it wasn’t gonna be a clean match with the wind. It was tough on the serve and return and trying to time the ball, but overall really happy with how I played and being through to the next round,” Gauff said after Round 1.
That sums it up well—Gauff did what she needed to do to win and got the job done. Now it’s about repeating that performance a few more times, and she’ll have the trophy in her hands. Much harder to achieve than to say, but time will tell.
For now, the French Open has delivered plenty of excitement, and we’ll see in the coming days whether these favorites keep up their strong performances.
