PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX

April 16, 2026

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/L. Samsonova

7-5, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Coco, first match on clay for the season and since Roland Garros last year. How did it feel out there? What were you most pleased about, getting that done in straight sets?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think just coming back after starting on a slow start, I thought I served pretty well, had seven aces, which is good for me.

Yeah, a lot of things to be positive about, and I think the second set was pretty much perfect tennis.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. One question about the slow start in the beginning, was maybe related to those conditions, as you said before, it wasn't really super comfortable for you to play?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think a little bit that, and -- I don't know. I think I started a little bit too passive. Balls were landing too short in the court.

Next match definitely going to go for a little bit more to begin the match. If I lose, then it's fine, but I definitely think it's better to start the match a bit more confidently than I did today.

Q. Speaking of the next match, you'll face Karolina again. I know the head-to-head is in your favor, but I think this will be the first time on clay you're meeting. Does that change the way you're approaching the way she's playing or your preparation, given it's now on clay, I guess?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I honestly haven't really talked to my team about the match yet. I would imagine, yeah, it's going to be a different matchup because of different surface. She made finals of Roland Garros, so she's a great -- she's obviously a great player but great clay court player too.

Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to approach it yet tomorrow. Maybe I'll watch a little bit of her clay matches -- well, actually I only have I guess two to watch from this year -- and see if it changes the way I play, or if not, I don't know. All the times when I played like these head-to-heads that I'm winning, I just treat each one like a new one, because usually they're going to try something different if it's not working, so yeah.

Q. You're starting the clay season for the first time as one of the big favorites, right, after the Roland Garros last year?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah.

Q. How do you see yourself this year on clay? That's the first question. And the second question is how do you put this tournament on the clay season, knowing that the surface is a bit different than the other ones?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say -- obviously the first time defending champion, I feel like I have come into it with being a favorite, one of the favorites before, maybe not "the" favorite.

How I put this tournament? Honestly, I don't know. For me, it's just trying to find my groove here. I don't do well here. I'm trying to break that curse. I broke it in Miami, so I'm hoping to break it here. I don't also put a lot of expectations on this tournament, because it is a clay that I don't think suits my game. I think it suits bigger, maybe flatter hitters because of the indoors, but I definitely think I'm happy just to get through today.

Q. As you mentioned at the beginning, the number of aces you hit today, I just wonder how do you feel at this point with your serve? And if you changed a little bit from the past that was giving you some issues sometimes?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I made some changes, and I think it's better. I mean, yeah, I served pretty well today, I thought. Obviously had some moments where there were doubles, but, I mean, it could have been -- I had five. Really could have been three. I should have got out of that 4-0 game a bit quicker.

Yeah, I'm happy with how I served today. I think it earned me a lot of free points, and especially my kick.

Q. I'm sure you have noticed when you're walking on court, there's the big presentation compared to other tournaments. Do you feel like the vibrations? I feel like from up here I can feel the court kind of shaking.

COCO GAUFF: Well, because we're out in the back waiting, I don't feel anything. I'm not gonna lie. It's kind of long. They have us back there and we're sitting there and they're doing the whole show.

Maybe they can bring us, tell us to come when they start it. It's like maybe three, four minutes long, and we're just sitting there, and we don't get to see anything but on a little TV of it.

But I think it's really cool. I think that's the beauty of indoor tournaments, that you can do the cool kind of light shows and things like that obviously. That's why I like playing at night, too, because you get to have that experience.