Coco Gauff made significant changes in preparation for transition to clay after poor start - "I think it was a good decision"

Saturday, 19 April 2025 at 04:00

American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff may have had a subpar first quarter of the 2024 season, but she hopes to improve her record based on certain changes she has adopted this year.

The former US Open champion has looked far from her Grand Slam winning self this year, suffering several early and unexpected losses after a quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open. However, Gauff is currently competing at the Stuttgart Open, where she will face Italian Jasmine Paolini for a spot in her first semifinal of the year.

Slight adaptations may prove to be beneficial, says Gauff

The Atlanta native is prepared to leave no stone unturned in her quest to rediscover her best form. Prior to last year's Stuttgart Open, Gauff took some time between the change from the hard courts of Miami to the clay courts in Stuttgart.

However, the 21-year old admitted to making the transition to clay almost immediately after her exit in Miami.

"Yeah, I was already on clay right after Miami, basically," said the fourth seed after her opening round victory over German Ella Seidel." I got here early just because I felt like last year I maybe got here too late, but I also played on Wednesday last year.
“Yeah, I think this year I came a little bit early just to give myself more time to adjust to the clay and indoor conditions here, too. So, yeah, I think overall I think it was a good decision."

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Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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