Former British tennis player concerned over Coco Gauff's inconsistency on court: “I think it’s a little bit inexplicable to be honest"

Coco Gauff was in a perilous position in her last-16 match at the Rome Open, on the brink of calamity when she was faced a match point opportunity by her young American opponent Iva Jovic. However, she managed to fend that off and complete an outstanding three-set win. This is becoming more of a trend for the two-time Grand Slam champion with doubts being casted over her.

Gauff began her campaign this year with a comfortable win over Tereza Valentova. It began to get sketchy against Solana Sierra. The Argentine took the first set before Gauff won 11 of the next 14 games to bagel her rival and sail onto a 5-3 lead, recovering from a 3-0 deficit. She got the job done, setting up a tie with 18-year-old talent Jovic.

This contest would prove to be very dramatic. Jovic survived late break points before converting one of her own, subsequently stealing the first set. She then broke and had the chance to serve it out at 5-3 but failed to take what would be a hugely crucial match point. That would be the first of four games on the spin for Gauff who drew level with her aggrieved opponent.

The third set began with five successive breaks. At 2-2, the 22-year-old won four consecutive games as she blitzed away from Jovic to pick up a hard-earned win, continuing the trend if tough three-set clashes.

In truth, this was a pivotal win in terms of her positions in the WTA rankings. Gauff was in danger of plummeting down the rankings after enjoying a hugely successful clay swing last year reaching the final in Madrid and Rome before winning the title at Roland Garros. Gauff departed at the last-16 stage in Madrid and was very close to experiencing the same fate in the Italian capital. However, she fought back and will compete in a third WTA 1000 quarterfinal in 2026.

Former British tennis player Annabel Croft was on Sky Sports commentary duties as she discussed the ongoing situation with Gauff. “I think it’s a little bit inexplicable to be honest with you because it’s sort of a pattern which is in her matches," she said. "As I said before, I’m not even sure if she knows why this happens."

She suggested a mentality link to all of this. “Because she tries to address it all, and there are moments where it becomes solid. It’s a mind thing isn’t it? The worst thing in tennis is that you overthink. We hear players in interviews talking about that, they don’t want to be overthinking.

“Suddenly there are patches where she starts to overthink the techniques. Then it starts to go away and she plays with freedom, without thinking. At the moment it’s sort of a concentration things isn’t it?”

No matter how deep in trouble Gauff gets herself in matches, she is able to dig herself out on a number of occasions. While she is constantly at risk, there have been some positive signs this year. A final run in her home event at the Miami Open was a huge points boost, injected at the right time to alleviate some of the pressure when heading to Europe. She also made the semi-final in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and will be eyeing up another deep run in Rome.

A three-time semi-finalist, Gauff ended her campaign at that stage in 2021 and 2024. The American went all the way to the final last time out but was defeated by the home favourite Jasmine Paolini. A fourth semi-final is just around the corner. To complete that, she will need to defeat the inform Mirra Andreeva. The Russian has lost just two matches from 17 on clay in 2026 in four tournaments, including this one. A title in Linz and semi-final in Stuttgart was followed by a third WTA 1000 final in Madrid, losing out to Marta Kostyuk.