The one mistake that cost Coco Gauff at Roland Garros; You won’t believe it

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Coco Gauff will be eager to move on from Roland Garros 2024 after a disappointing early exit.

Gauff had started the tournament with comfortable wins over Taylor Townsend and Mayar Sherif, both in straight sets.

However, her campaign ended abruptly in the third round when she was beaten by Anastasia Potapova.

The surprise result, coupled with how it unfolded, made Gauff one of the biggest letdowns of the event.

Expectations were high for Coco Gauff at Roland Garros

As the fourth seed, Gauff entered Roland Garros with plenty of expectations behind her, especially considering her recent form on clay. But she didn’t come close to meeting those expectations, which was surprising given that she’d won the tournament just a year earlier.

Gauff had the most WTA clay-court wins in 2025, and her comeback victory over Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final was one of the highlights of the season.

This year’s title defence fell flat though. The two-time finalist couldn’t find her rhythm and it showed in both her play and body language.

She started strong against Potapova, taking the first set 6-4. But things unravelled from there as she lost her composure and eventually dropped the match 6-4, 6-7(1), 4-6.

The loss came just after a run to the Italian Open final, where she fell short against Elina Svitolina. That result only added to the sense that Gauff should have done better in Paris.

Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz among Roland Garros disappointments

Gauff wasn’t the only American who left Paris disappointed, and in fact, there were others whose exits drew even more attention.

Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz stood out most among them, both exiting the tournament in surprising first-round losses. Pegula fell to Kimberly Birrell, while Fritz was beaten by Nishesh Basavareddy.

Both Birrell and Basavareddy were knocked out in the next round, as was men’s top seed Jannik Sinner, whose early exit shocked the tennis world.

Sinner lost to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in what will go down as one of the more unexpected results in recent Grand Slam history. Sinner had been widely tipped to win the title before his defeat opened the door for Alexander Zverev, who went on to claim it. On the women’s side, Mirra Andreeva took home the trophy.