Gauff v Andreeva: Things we learned

It’s crazy when you think about it. Coco Gauff is barely 19 years old and she’s already contesting her fourth main draw at Roland-Garros. 

Kids these days… 

We will likely be saying the same thing about Mirra Andreeva in 2026.

The 16-year-old, who bowed out to Gauff in three sets on Saturday on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, made a major impression in her main draw debut this year, demonstrating a game that appears destined for the upper echelons of the sport. 

Here’s what we learned from Gauff and Andreeva’s first encounter on the terre battue of Paris…

Coco backs up her words 

It would seem natural for Gauff to be extremely nervous facing a competitor three years younger than her, but she assured reporters before the match that Andreeva’s age was the furthest thing from her mind. 

“When you step on the court, you just see your opponent, and you don't really think about the personal side of things,” she said. “You just see forehand, backhand, serve, and all the same.” 

Credit to Gauff for mastering the potential pitfall of this contest: falling prey to nerves against a young opponent who is playing with nothing to lose.

Gauff calmly took control of the match after dropping a tense and entertaining first set, and never let her momentum slip once she had a grip in the second. From a losing position, the No.6 seed never wavered as she trotted off with 12 of the final 14 games to book her spot in the second week for the third straight year.

Mirra read the book on Coco, but lost the plot 

Perhaps benefitting from playing practice sets with Gauff before the tournament, or from advance scouting from her coaching staff, Andreeva did a great job of serving to Gauff’s weaker forehand wing in the first set. According to Infosys CourtVision, nearly all of the 16-year-old’s first-serves went to Gauff’s forehand, while most of her second-serves went to the American’s body. 

But Andreeva didn’t manage to stick to the game plan in the next two sets. And it showed. The world No.143 was able to win only 5/26 second-serve points across the second and third set and it played the biggest role in her eventual demise. 

Whether it was fatigue, or a lack of clarity, Andreeva’s inability to stick with her game plan helped Gauff dominate down the stretch.

Coco’s backhand: a menace 

Gauff’s backhand was the premier kill shot of the contest once again, and the American used it to take the initiative in rallies and set her opponent on the back foot. The American finished with 17 backhand winners, many of them of spectacular variety, with Gauff air-bound as she rifled winners with stunning power and precision. 

Is there a better backhand on the WTA tour? There may be, but Gauff’s two-hander belongs in the conversation. 

Wise beyond her years...

Patient, probing and proactive. Gauff’s reaction to dropping the opening set was the stuff of dreams. The perfect reaction to adversity should give the American confidence as she takes her talents to the second week in Paris. 

Challenges happen – c’est la vie in the Slams – and the real champions stay locked in until the bitter end. Gauff will take the confidence gained from winning two of her three matches from a set down into her fourth-round match-up against either Anna Karolina Schmiedlova or Kayla Day.