ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2025

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/T. Valentova

6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Coco, it's never easy playing someone who is young and upcoming in the sport, obviously. It was a little tricky today, but how were you able to overcome a younger opponent and play so well today?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, whenever you're playing someone young, honestly, I wasn't really aware of her age until today when I just randomly looked and I saw she won juniors last year. I was, like, yeah, she's definitely young.

Yeah, whenever you're playing someone young, you know they're probably going to be free and relaxed. I felt like that's what she was today.

Overall I'm happy with how I played, and it was tough to kind of manage that. Through to the next round.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You get all kinds of questions about improving this and improving that. How do you balance the focus on especially in the middle of a tournament on what you're doing well against things that you'd like to do better in order to sort of keep your head in the right spot and not thinking about less good stuff versus really good stuff?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think I am someone to look at sometimes more negative things than positive. Yeah, I feel like it's just taking it on a match-by-match basis and figuring out what I can do better with each match.

Once I'm in a tournament, I just feel like I have to trust the work I did before. Obviously you have the day offs in between, but there is not too much you can improve in one day, but you just try and make those little steps and hope they perform in the match.

Q. Wondered how different the court played with the sun finally coming out compared to your first-round match, and the extent how you prepare or play within the match?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I was definitely a little bit more livelier today, and I felt better on the court today. How I change? I went up, changed the tension a little bit just because I figured it would be a little warmer and quicker today.

Yeah, with how I play, I think, I don't know, I feel like my first match felt so slow and it was so windy, so I was just trying, it's one of those things where I just felt like trying to manage it point by point. Today I felt like I could build a little bit more and go for my shots a little bit more.

I did that today. Playing against her, I had a game plan and I kind of stuck to it the whole match. I feel like today isn't always the way I like to play, but that's what was required for today, to be honest.

Q. Some players talk about making scheduling requests. They want to play at night or they don't. Or can I get tomorrow off if they're coming to a tournament. How often do you make those requests? How often do you get what you ask for? Has that changed over the course of your career?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, honestly, I'm not a player that requests a lot, to be honest. Here I could have put in requests on what day I wanted to play, and I didn't care. So it's just let the fate decide.

Yeah, usually I kind of mainly do requests, mainly if I'm playing doubles, and I request maybe to play earlier just so that if I have doubles, then if I'm not playing third on singles and fifth on doubles and I'm there late. I'd rather play first or second in doubles.

Most times not really, unless I did well in a tournament, and then I'm playing the next week or really two days later I'll ask if I can play the latest possible, like, day for first rounds.

But I guess over my career, like, for sure, yeah, if you're ranked a little bit higher, they'll hear more of your input, for sure. To be honest, I think it's rightfully deserved. I feel like if you do well on tour, win so many tournaments, you should have a little bit more priority when it comes to that.

But when I was younger, I got protected because I wasn't allowed to play second night match because of the age rule. That was kind of my only request then. It wasn't really a request. It was more so rules.

Other than that, I'm not a person that requests a lot.

Q. Watching practices, like the changeover between players seems pretty seamless. At the hour, the player will come off. Has there ever been a time, maybe not at the top level but juniors or ITFs, when you were waiting for your practice but the player didn't come off?

COCO GAUFF: It's happened on tour now more so than juniors. Yeah, you definitely get some people that you know will push their time two, three, four minutes past.

I'm not pretty on the bar with that. Me, if I'm on the court, I'll ask the coach. I don't like to be that player that goes over their time. I'm going to stop literally maybe even a minute before, especially if they have to clean the court.

But there are some people that go over and you're kind of standing and you start making your way further and further on the court. To me, I don't mind as much, but it's just like acknowledge, sometimes -- if someone, Sorry, I have a match, I just want to hit a few more serves.

I'm, like, okay, cool.

But the worst is if the player just keeps going like they're not in the wrong. And then they don't say sorry after. Okay, noted.

There are some people who do go over their time. I just try to inch my way out there, like, Okay, it's time to get off the court.

Usually most people are pretty respectful when it comes to that, because we all know that it's sometimes hard to get practice, so every minute is kind of worth it.

Q. When do you stare at them directly and make your presence felt?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, kind of. I don't stare at the player. I will just kind of inch my way on the court. I won't do it until it's like three minutes. If they look like they're wrapping up, I'm chill. Some people will just keep going unless you say something. Yeah.

Usually my coach will start making his way on the court. But yeah, I'm not that person. I'll finish at my time.

Q. Would you like to give us some names?

COCO GAUFF: No, you guys already know that would start a whole thing. You should already know the answer to that.

Q. Two days ago Ons Jabeur made some comments about scheduling women's matches in the evening. How do you feel about that? Do you support Ons? Does it bother you as a woman, as a professional athlete?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I talked about this a few days ago. To be honest, I didn't really have all the facts of the situation. I do think that women's matches are worthy of a night spot.

Yeah, I think, to be honest, like if there is going to be two spots, I don't think that a woman should play after the men at 8:15. I just think that's unfair. You could go on at 11:00 and that's if the match really goes fast.

I think if there is an opportunity to put a match earlier at, like, 7:00 or most tournaments do do two nights a lot.

Yeah, if they are going to put one match at 8:15, for sure there could be an opportunity to put a woman there. If they're going to put two slots, and the first match is starting at 8:15, I don't think a woman's match should be played after a men's match. I just don't think people should be going on at 11:00 or 12:00, to be honest.

I definitely do agree with Ons when, like, you feel what's best for the fans, but I feel like we produce some high-quality tennis and we have some great stars on the women's side who fans I'm sure would love to see.

From my experience playing at US Open, night match at 7:00 p.m. with Novak following me, and he's the greatest player of all time, people were almost just as excited to see me play as him. Yeah, same with other places I play, like Australia, night match, people were excited to see too.

I definitely think there is opportunity to improve that in the future with this tournament.

Q. Are you aware when you're playing, especially a younger player, how heavily they're breathing during your match? Like they're kind of gassed, given your style of play and getting extra balls back? Have you noticed that?

COCO GAUFF: It's not something I notice in a match, to be honest. I do notice, like, if I'm breathing a little bit heavier, I know they're breathing more heavier, regardless of age. It's just a player thing. I'm really confident in my fitness, to be honest.

It's not something I look over and see, to be honest. If she was doing that today, I definitely didn't notice.

Q. Today your return games were very good but not your serve games. How do you explain that?

COCO GAUFF: Gotta serve better and keep returning well. I don't know what else to say (smiling).

Q. The other day I think you were answering a question about Serena, and you seemed to be implying that the players really are the only ones who know about the tour and seemed to imply there are really tough sides to it. Obviously you have had a spectacular run, but could you take a moment and just talk about what are the downsides? What are the challenges in playing the tour, traveling?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think just sometimes the solitude of it. I am someone who enjoys to be alone. You're alone a lot on tour. I mean, for me, it was harder, especially when I was younger, just because there wasn't anyone. I went from juniors, everyone being my age, finding a way to relate to someone doing something with friends, and going to tour, everyone being 10 years, not the case now, but 10 years older.

You know, it's not like, Oh, what are you doing tonight?

Most people aren't going to want to go to dinner with someone that young. That was the harder part for me with that transition, having friends on tour and not having any friends, working through that. I think that's why I try to travel a lot with my parents.

Even then it's tough, because I don't think anyone would spend as much time with their parents all the time that I had to do when I was younger. Now I definitely try to make more friends on tour. With Robin and Alex, just playing doubles to help build those friendships.

I think whenever I do see younger players on tour, necessarily we don't have to be friends, because they might not want to, but I definitely try to just reach a hand out or say hello, just make the vibe better, because I know that for the few players that did do it to me when I was coming up, I appreciated a lot.