THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 29, 2026

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/Korpatsch

6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Coco, good to get the first win? How do you feel?

COCO GAUFF: No, I feel great. It was pretty straightforward. I thought I served well. That's what I think I'm most happy with today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Getting a win on grass, it's been a minute. Relief to get that streak done.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I definitely didn't want to continue three years. I don't know, even in Berlin when I lost, I felt like I played a good set. I'm trying to take the positives where I can.

Today, honestly, me and her both don't have a great streak on grass (laughter). It was just going to be who's going to finally break it. I'm happy that it was me today.

Q. How are you able to laugh about this so much and joke about it?

COCO GAUFF: There's nothing else you can do. I mean, I guess you can sulk on it. It's the past. I'm proud to admit what I'm good at and what I'm not good at. Not that I'm not good at it. I think I have the chance to be good at it, and I'm hoping this year is the year when things click. I definitely feel like this is the best practice I've had on grass.

I'm able to laugh because, I don't know, I cope with humor. I think some of the matches I've lost in the past, even though they hurt, and it sucked, last year it definitely hurt a lot, actually. But I'm here and I'm just trying to do better than I did last year. I completed that challenge.

Q. I've been asking players about how they have a preference playing a week coming into a Grand Slam.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, typically on all the slams I like to not play the week before because, A, sponsor things. Everybody likes to do stuff the week before. Also, I like to just have time to adjust and ground myself in the site, just the way things are.

Yeah, honestly, Bad Homburg, I was deciding if I wanted to play or not. I literally down to 30 minutes before I had to tell if I was going to play or not. I just decided not to.

Maybe it was an emotional decision because after I lost in Berlin right that day. But also, I don't know, I just felt like I needed to just train and actually work on the fundamentals of grass. I felt like for me, yes, I have enough matches under my belt this year, I've been playing non-stop since March, maybe not grass matches, but for me I felt like I was lacking some fundamentals. I really do think I was able to quickly fix a lot of those this week of just practicing.

I think overall if this tournament doesn't go my way, I think overall this practice week here will benefit me more in the future than just to play another match. Honestly where my head space was, probably wouldn't have done that well either.

Q. We found out that the protests have been called off with the tournament. How did you find out? How were you informed? What is your perspective?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, well, I don't know what we're allowed to say and what we're not allowed to say. There was a compromise made between the tournament and players. Honestly, that's really all I can speak on with that. Sorry.

Q. Were you consulted?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I definitely was before. We're all individually allowed to make our own decisions. But as far as me, where I stand, unless it's like something I really feel strongly about, I feel if we're moving as a collective, I think that makes the most sense.

I feel like when one player maybe decides to continue or not and the rest do the opposite, it doesn't look as good. For me, maybe I might feel one way. If the collective wants to move another way, I definitely will follow the collective, because I think if we're all united, it puts a stronger preference. I think that's how we have been moving, and I think that's why people are taking it seriously more this time.

Q. For a lot of Americans, grass is a really natural surface. For you, it's the most challenging surface. You have a relative atypical American game. You won the French Open, which most Americans don't do either. When did you know your game was outside what people sort of stereotype to be stereotypical American tennis?

COCO GAUFF: Well, I think I've been lucky to go train overseas at Mouratoglou Academy. Every time, unless I had a hard court tournament coming up, I was always playing an clay. I honestly, at the time, thought it was stupid. They definitely were the smarter ones because they were trying to look at long-term goals and long-term plans. I think they saw my game and was, like, this can be really good on clay specifically. They were right about that.

As far as like grass, I mean, yeah, like you said, the American way is big serve, big forehand, big strokes. I have the bigger serve now, but I don't really play like that. I play more of an all-court game.

Definitely I play with more topspin. Also because the way my grip is. I don't know. I think maybe just because of the way I grew up, was younger. That's just how I always felt comfortable on clay.

Then I won French Open juniors. I do think sometimes early on in your career those junior results do matter because you feel confident on a certain surface and a certain thing.

But yeah, hopefully one of the women can make one of the finals here. I don't remember the last time an American has made the final here on the women's side.

Q. Amanda last year.

COCO GAUFF: Oh, Amanda, yes. Sorry, Amanda. Yeah, well, she was the last. My bad. I love you. I'm so sorry. I lost first round last year, so honestly Wimbledon was over for me.

Q. You spoke on court about searching for your grass identity. How does that differ to your pursuit for an overall tennis identity?

COCO GAUFF: I think grass, it forces me to be more aggressive and really trusting my shots. I feel like I can't second-guess what I'm doing on the court.

Also I'm going for way bigger serves than I normally do. I think also because I'm changing my serve - well, I changed my serve, now I feel really confident that I can hit any spot at almost any moment.

Just trying to figure out how I want to play on grass. I feel I finally have an idea of what that looks like for me in my head, now it's about just executing it. Where as before, I think I was really just taking it point by point.

Now I feel like I have clear, concise plans, things that I want to do, whereas before I feel like I was always adjusting to my opponent. Now I feel like I'm making my opponent adjust to me.

Q. What gives you encouragement that working on the fundamentals in grass are enough to compensate for what you described, the difficulties in your game?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, well, I mean, last year Iga won, so we have very similar grips. I think that also maybe changed my perspective on how I can play on grass. So I think that honestly is the main thing.

Everything else I just feel like footwork-wise I'm not where I need to be on the surface. I think just learning. We spend a lot of time just focusing on footwork.

Outside of that, I mean, just being aggressive, too. I think outside of those three things, I feel like I have to only focus on those three things to be the grass player I want to be. I'm pretty good at the net. Obviously I'm quick on the court. My serve is where I want it to be. I do think it can improve even more.

The next thing is just focusing on those three things. Yeah, I definitely think seeing her win last year gave my confidence of, Okay, I can be good on this surface, I just need to figure out how I have to play.

Q. In what way does your footwork differ on this surface?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, I feel like on clay, obviously we're sliding a lot more, playing a little bit more upright because the ball is bouncing higher. Here, I know Sinner can slide, but not something I'm quite comfortable yet on this surface. Just working on that, really just making it as efficient as possible.

You don't have time for mistakes. Even easy balls on clay, you can lack a little bit or be more relaxed. Here, the way the grass is, it can drop, make a bad bounce. I think making it as clear and concise and compact as possible to allow the margin for mistake to be low.

Q. Your reaction to Marketa's ban? Have you ever been in a situation where you considered not taking a test, refusing a test?

COCO GAUFF: I mean, obviously I know the rules are the rules. It is tough to see someone you know who for sure is 100% clean - I think. Obviously, I don't know, but for track record and everything, 100% clean, respecting the sport.

Things are circumstantial. Me, I've had some weird testing incidents, had complaints to the testing agency about certain things.

But I've never been to the point where I refused a test. That's never happened. I've been tried to have been tested outside my time slot before. Obviously the times that I have, that I make contact, I just take the test. What can you do? There has been times that they're there and I'm not there, but you're not obligated to take it if you're not there.

I'm not going to lie, some of them can be pushy, make you feel like you're doing something wrong. One time she came outside my time slot. But the way she was speaking to me on the phone, it literally made me cry afterwards. I found out I was in the right, and I didn't have to do anything.

I think it's a case-by-case type of situation. I obviously send all my love to Marketa. I mean, four years is pretty tough. I couldn't imagine being in the position she is in. I wish her all the best. Hopefully we can all learn from the situation.

Q. Your next opponent, I think you've played a couple times this year. How do you think this will be on grass?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I played her at United Cup and also Rome in two polar opposite matches. United Cup was a bit straightforward and Rome was not.

I think it will be a tough match. I think she's a big hitter, a big server. On grass whenever you're playing those type of players, it's tough.

Yeah, honestly, I don't know, I have to look at how she plays on grass. I feel like looking at the clay result, we can take some things, but it might not be the same.