“True testament to Coco Gauff’s guts” – Serena Williams’ ex-coach beams with pride after her bold prediction about American’s Montreal win comes true

July 30, 2025

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Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs expressed pride after Coco Gauff fulfilled her prophecy by winning against Danielle Collins in the National Bank Open first round. It was Gauff’s first win since her Roland Garros title claim, as she faced first-round defeats at Wimbledon and the Berlin Open.

Coco Gauff, who won her first clay court major at the French Open by outpacing world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, the first achievement for an American woman since Serena Williams in 2015. Gauff couldn’t continue her momentum on grass until a striking performance in the Canadian Open opening round, pulling herself back up despite being an inch away from defeat.

The younger American was losing in the third set, but Collins never reached the match point, losing nine of the last 11 points, and handing the victory to the opponent, who had nearly squandered the first set and even lost the second one.

Midway through the first round, Rennae Stubbs predicted that the 21-year-old has the 'signs of a champion' and that she will bounce back.

"Cocos speed, tenacity and fight wins her so many matches! I know it's not over but trust me, I think she still wins this...she just never gives up. It's a true testament to her guts! she doesn't let the worst effect her best! sign of a champion."

After Coco Gauff pulled off an unexpected win, Stubbs expressed pride in her prophecy and wrote:

"Told Ya"

Gauff will next go head-on with Veronica Kudermetova in the second round. slated for July 31, 2025.

Coco Gauff opened up about the reason behind her withdrawal from the Citi Open

Coco Gauff at the WTA 1000 National Bank Open presented by Rogers - Day 1 - (Source: Getty)

Reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek recently shared that she hadn't had the time to process and celebrate her Wimbledon win due to the demanding tour schedule. In a pre-National Bank Open press conference, Coco Gauff echoed the sentiments and revealed that she pulled out of the DC Citi Open to rest up and continue training.

"Yeah, it was nice to actually have some time in between. That's why I didn't play D.C., because I wanted to just have a real training block, which I hadn't had in a while just because of how our schedule is."

She also shared that the tournament switching up WTA 1000 and Masters 1000 between Montreal and Toronto every year keeps her motivated.

"Being back in Montreal is great, and it's definitely refreshing. I like that they change it every other year just because it feels different each time. Yeah, I'm happy to be back here. I like this tournament a lot and would love to do great here one of these years."

Coco Gauff won her first singles major title at the 2023 US Open and the doubles title at the 2024 French Open.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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