Third seed Coco Gauff successfully reached the third round of the Italian Open after defeating Czech teenager Tereza Valentova on May 7, 2026.
In a historic win, Gauff defeated Valentova 6–3, 6–4 in 1 hour and 34 minutes, her 20th win of the 2026 season.
The tennis star also broke Valentova six times, recovering from a difficult second set, where the score was tied at 3-3 and 4-4 twice.
Gauff revealed that she had been “physically weakened” due to illness during her previous tournament in Madrid, but decided to fight rather than withdraw. Despite the setbacks, he expressed great confidence in his speed and sliding abilities on clay surfaces.
During the post-game interview, the third-seed spoke about her illness contracted during the Madrid Open, saying, “I mean, today it was great, I think I wasn’t totally happy in some moments with how I was going out there, but overall, I think I raised my game when it mattered, and I’m happy to be able to close out that second set.”
“I think I feel very comfortable with things like walking on (clay), sliding, things like that. I love doing that,” Coco Gauff said.
She attributed her seven double faults to the pressure applied by Valentova and different playing conditions, such as the low altitude in Rome.
Despite a challenging service game consisting of seven double faults, Gauff achieved her 18th career win at the Foro Italico.
Gauff said, “I learned from last time going to the US Open as the defending champion, so I’m hoping I’ll be a little more calm this time, which I think I will, because your body experiences something before, it knows how to react, and you train your mind.”
She is going to face unseeded Solana Sierra of Argentina in the third round on Saturday, May 9.
