Coco Gauff made it safely into the third round at Roland Garros with a straight-sets win over Czech teenager Tereza Valentova.
The 2023 US Open champion and No 2 seed in Paris, secured a 6-2 6-4 win on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Thursday.
Gauff served for the match at 5-3 in the second set, only for Valentova, the world No 172, to break back. But the teenager’s reprieve was short-lived.
Gauff exacted revenge in the very next game to book her place in round three. ‘She’s very young and I knew it would be a tough match,’ Gauff said afterwards.
The American reached the final at Roland Garros in 2022 but her 2025 campaign almost ended before it began.
Before her first-round match, the 21-year-old wandered on to Court Philippe-Chatrier to face Olivia Gadecki, only to realize she had forgotten her rackets.
Coco Gauff reached the third round at Roland Garros with a win over teenager Tereza Valentova
The 2023 US Open champion, and No 2 seed, secured a 6-2 6-4 win on Court Suzanne Lenglen
Valentova, who is just 18 and ranked No 172 in the world, was beaten in round two by Gauff
They were eventually delivered by a ball boy, with Gauff going on to win 6-2 6-2.
‘Honestly, as long as I’ve been on tour, my coach has always put the rackets in the bag before the match because he’s very superstitious,’ she said after the win.
‘I’m blaming it on my coach. It’s OK.’
Gauff will face another Czech star in round three, with the 21-year-old taking on world No 47 Marie Bouzkova.
She was slated to face fellow American, Emma Navarro, later in the tournament. But the No 9 seed was beaten 6-0 6-1 by Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round.
