Gauff on Grass? A Work in Progress

Coco Gauff’s Grand Slam career started with an epic win over Venus Williams at Wimbledon. She was 15 at the time, and the future – on the slippery surface and everywhere else – was bright. 

Seven years later, she’s a two-time Grand Slam champion and one of the biggest stars of our sport, but her fortunes on grass have not panned out as expected. 

Gauff, who has not won a match on the surface since Wimbledon 2024, was asked about how she gets along with the surface. 

“We don’t have the best relationship,” she said. 

“I always have fond memories on the grass. I obviously had a couple fourth rounds here (in 2019, 2021 and 2024), and I definitely think that I have the ability to play on it. I think it’s more about confidence,” she said. 

Gauff, who enters as the No.7 seed and will face Tamara Korpatsch of Germany in first-round action on Monday, hinted that she is better on grass than many in the media currently think. 

She has a point. She lost to Sofia Kenin in the first round in 2023. In 2022 it was Amanda Anisimova in the second round. 

She made the fourth round in 2021 but ran into former champion Angelique Kerber, and in 2024 it was red-hot Emma Navarro who took her out. 

“I’m not going to lie, I haven’t had the best draws here at Wimbledon,” she said. “I think that’s also been tough.” 

Gauff is 21-13 lifetime on the surface, and she’s never reached a final. 

Grass is “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,” she said. 

How does the 22-year-old plan to achieve more grass synergy?

“Just keep playing on it,” she said. “Trial and error, just learning.” 

Gauff says she plans to be more aggressive on serve as well, in the hope that she doesn’t have to rely on her defense on the toughest surface to defend. 

“I definitely think I’ve been practicing so far the best… since [starting my] Wimbledon [career]. Does that mean I’m going to play great on Monday? I don’t know, I hope so. I think just really focusing on the footwork, the game style, and really trying to find my grass identity.”