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Coco Gauff's recently inconsistent play brought her Stuttgart Open to a surprisingly early end in the quarterfinal round, as she dropped two straight sets to WTA World No. 6 Jasmine Paolini. Despite an early surge and a resilient effort to stay competitive, Gauff was ultimately unable to keep the match from slipping out of her hands.
Gauff was coming off a high performance in the Stuttgart opener amid her months-long slump. She did hold a lead to start this contest too, getting out ahead 4-2, but Paolini won three straight games and never looked back. Paolini took 41 service points and seven service games against Gauff's 25 and four, respectively, and went on to beat her 6-4, 6-3.
The World No. 4's serve has notably challenged her in competition over the last few months. Gauff lost the head-to-head battle with Paolini in the match, hitting only 94% of her first serves while her opponent had a 100% rate. The 21-year-old also only won 51% of her first-serve and 39% of her second-serve points, which Paolini capitalized on as well.
Legendary tennis coach Rick Macci, who has mentored tennis icons like Serena Williams and Andy Murray, came to Gauff's defense amid her struggles and tried to remind the public of the young star's potential.
“Coco will be fine. You never lose talent/athletic ability,” Macci declared on X, formerly Twitter. “This is a journey of winning/losing, staggers/daggers. She will win multiple Grand Slams and be number one in the future. Everybody freaks out when you lose/struggle, but you win, everybody loves to snuggle.”
Macci went on to talk about the intricacies of Gauff's game and why she's more primed than most other players to become one of women's tennis' greats.
“Know her game inside out. Know what is inside this champion. Coco has some genetic qualities better than any player,” he said. “The Delray track star will get back on track and track down many Slams in the future.”
Macci wrapped up his statements with some reassurance, seemingly for both fans and Gauff herself. “Everybody needs to take a deep breath as Coco will be fine. She is 21. She will go up and down for a while but will 100% go to another level and more in the future,” he concluded. “Before the sunshine/rainbow there is a rain/thunder.”
Coco Gauff, who holds a 14-6 record this season, will get a chance to redeem herself on another clay court at the Madrid Open on April 25.
