"Tennis fans want us to win every week, but it's not that easy" - Gauff stresses the pressure of winning amid slump in form

World number two Coco Gauff has not had the best of it since her triumph at Roland Garros. A poor grass season has been followed by a round of 16 and a quarter-final departures in the Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati.

She struggled badly in her last eight tie against Jasmine Paolini, who came back from one set down to end the American's title hopes. In a rematch from the Rome final, Gauff got out to the perfect start, saving a break point in the midst of breaking twice to take a 3-0 lead, and held out to claim the first set with another late break.

The second set ended with five consecutive breaks, going in favour of the Italian, who broke to love to level the tie. Gauff's serving woes would continue in the third set. She broke back on two occasions, but was unable to prevent the Italian from taking the win.

Gauff was broken seven times in the tie, and served a whopping 16 double-faults, with only 46% of her second serves finding their way in. She proved that she could still compete, with her nicking seven breaks of her own, but her serve prevented her from going on further in the competition. She was also under-par in her Canadian Open trouncing against 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, who would go on to lift the trophy.

Since claiming her first Roland Garros title and her second Grand Slam title, to add with the US Open she won in 2023, she has been swimming through rough waters. The American only entered two grass competitions, losing in the first round of both. One of which was Wimbledon, culminating into her first opening round exit since 2023, where she went on to win in Cincinnati and the US Open shortly after.

As the world number two, fans are going to have high expectations for Gauff, and expect her to win big tournaments and compete consistently with the best week in, week out, but it is not that simple. Gauff revealed on Tennis One App that it is 'completely normal' for a period of bad form, and that is expected when someone plays 11 months of the year. She also revealed the pressure that she was constantly under to flourish at these events.

"Sometimes, tennis fans want us to win every week, but it's not that easy," Gauff said. "We play 11 months out of the year. Compared to what happened before my US Open title two years ago, it's easier for me to manage these expectations now.

"No one calls my season bad because I won Roland-Garros, and for people, winning a Grand Slam more or less defines whether you've had a successful season or not. This is true for me, but also for other players on the circuit. I would say that it's completely normal for a player to be really performing for three or four weeks, then experience a downturn for a month because that's how our season is structured with the sequence of tournaments."

It has still been a very good season for Gauff. A very strong clay stint saw her reach two Masters 1000 finals in Madrid and Rome, where she was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka and Paolini, respectively. She is now hopeful of returning back to her best at her home Grand Slam, and heads into the competition with a decent amount of hardcourt tennis under her belt. Gauff will go into the event as one of the strong favourites alongside last year's winner Sabalenka and reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek.