May 21 (Reuters) - Coco Gauff has thrown out the mental playbook that comes with being a defending champion, declaring she's done with the pressure of trying to "defend, defend" as she looks to retain her French Open title.
With Aryna Sabalenka arriving at the tournament under an injury cloud and Iga Swiatek no longer as dominant on clay as she once was, Gauff is among the favourites to win once again in Paris.
The world number four, who beat Sabalenka in last year's Roland Garros final to win her second Grand Slam title, said she had learned a vital lesson from her previous attempt at defending a major, when she was eliminated from the 2024 U.S. Open in the fourth round.
"I realise that the defending means nothing in a way. Each year is a new opportunity and new chance for anyone to win. Obviously I hope it's me," she told reporters at this month's Italian Open.
"I don't really look at it as defending anymore. I guess at the U.S. Open I was like, 'I need to defend, defend'... I say now 'it's just another tournament'.
"I won it last year. I'll try again to do it this year. I'm not going to be able to defend every year. I'm not Rafa (Nadal). Maybe one day!"
GROWING CONFIDENCE ON SERVE
Gauff's preparations for the French Open have not been ideal and she was forced to contend with a virus as well as a fourth-round loss in Madrid, before bouncing back to reach a second straight Italian Open final.
In the final, Gauff racked up seven double faults and was beaten by Elina Svitolina.
However, she believes she has finally cracked the code on her serve issues, which saw herleading the WTA Tour for double faults in both 2024 and 2025 and enlisting biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan last year to address the problem.
While she once again finds herself at the top of that list for double faults in 2026, she committed just one in each of her wins over Sorana Cirstea and Iva Jovic in Rome, an improvement she credited to a newfound stability in her second serve.
"It's been an up-and-down process. I obviously don't want to jinx anything, but I think we found the recipe to making it more consistent," Gauff said.
"Now it's focusing on how to make it more of a weapon, how to serve smarter. I'm tossing a bit more consistent. My weight I feel is a little bit better. Also just the trust, the confidence in it is a lot better."
If Gauff can prevent her serve from sabotaging her as it has so often before, the door could be open for a third Grand Slam title.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
