“I’m mentally ready”: Coco Gauff staying cool despite hostile crowd chatter ahead of French Open semifinal

America’s Coco Gauff has shared what she would do regarding crowd behaviour in the upcoming semifinals of the French Open. The second Grand Slam of the year is moving towards conclusion, where the semifinal lineup has been completed.

In the women’s singles category, the second semifinal will feature one-time Grand Slam winner Gauff, who will take on local player Lois Boisson. The 21-year-old, who has had a very good record while playing at the French Open, secured her spot in the last-four after beating the 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the last-eight clash with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. This will be Gauff’s second semifinal appearance at Roland Garros in the last four years. She has now played in the quarterfinals of each of the last four editions of the mega-event.

On the other hand, France’s Boisson secured her spot in the last-four after beating world number six Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the last-eight contest in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3. During the quarterfinal clash, the local crowd put a lot of pressure on the 18-year-old, who was clearly disturbed by the hostile atmosphere in the arena. Gauff was asked about the same issue after cementing her place in the semifinal, about how she would deal with the crowd's hostility during the contest. In response to that, the current world number two stated that she has no issues with the crowd supporting the local player and that she is ready for such a scenario.

“There’s two ways I’ve done it in the past,” she said. “Either pretend they’re cheering for you or just using it and not letting that get to you. I’ve been in crowds where they’re 99% for me. So I don’t have an issue with it. I hope everyone will be respectful. If not, it’s cool. It makes sports exciting. I can’t get irritated that someone is rooting for their hometown hero, because I would do the same. It’s just something I’ll mentally prepare for, expect, and be ready for.”