Coco Gauff Starts Her Clay Season With Crushing Win In Stuttgart

Coco Gauff might have struggled after the Australian Open, but she's back to winning ways on the clay courts.

Gauff was on a three-match losing streak only a few weeks ago, and she couldn't get past more than two rounds in Indian Wells and Miami. In four WTA 1000 events, she lost four matches and won only four as well.

That's why the young American aimed to turn her season around during the clay-court part of the season. Like most of the top players, she chose the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart as her first tournament on the red dirt.

As one of the top four seeds, the 21-year-old American had a first-round bye in Stuttgart, which meant that she started her tournament in the second round. The 2023 US Open champion took on Ella Seidel, who is a 20-year-old German player ranked 124th in the world.

Gauff is obviously the more accomplished player with more experience, and that was on display during their meeting in Stuttgart as well. Although the German player had the backing of the home crowd, the WTA World No. 4 dominated the tennis court.

Gauff, who will be one of the favorites to win at the French Open, started by breaking her opponent's serve. However, immediately after, she had to face two break points herself. But the American player saved both, and that inspired her to break Seidel's serve one more time.

The German player was already down 0-5, but she then managed to hold her serve once to avoid a bagel. Still, Gauff won the first set of the match without too many issues, 6-1.

The goal for the young American was to continue applying pressure also at the start of the second set, but she was the first player to face a break point. But again, Gauff saved the break chance, holding her serve.

At one point, the 21-year-old American player won 12 points in a row, which helped her to get ahead, leading 3-1. She then broke her opponent's serve two more times, and after only 58 minutes of play, Gauff won the match 6-1, 6-1.

That means she has now secured her spot in the quarter-finals, and her next opponent will certainly prove to be a proper test. Gauff will take on the fifth-seeded Jasmine Paolini.

Paolini beat two German players in Stuttgart. The Italian bested Eva Lys, and she then also outplayed Jule Niemeier to set up a meeting with Gauff. The winner of this match will then take on Aryna Sabalenka or Elise Mertens in the semi-finals.