Coco Gauff‘s Wimbledon run ended before it kicked off last week. A first round exit was something no one expected from the World No.2. Especially given the fact she clinched a slam just a month ago in Paris. The momentum was there, the inspiration to do better was there with the 21-year-old American. Still, she failed to overcome the grass challenge at the All England Club. Interestingly, she had a plan ready before entering the event to succeed on the green surface. “Grass has been trial and error for me. The biggest thing, I think, is just to be more aggressive.” Unfortunately, it did nothing to help her form. We’re left with unanswered questions as to why the 2025 French Open clay queen couldn’t move beyond the first round. But it seems like Andy Roddick has an answer.
Speaking during an episode of his Served podcast, the 2003 US Open winner mentioned how ATP pros like Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as icons before them, made key adjustments to achieve great results on grass. Compared to clay and hard court, it’s relatively faster, which sometimes makes it very tough for most players to adapt properly in terms of movement and speed. “You have those light movers who kind of glide, you know Pete (Sampras), Roger (Federer), Edberg, Carlos (Alcaraz) does it now. Novak (Djokovic) has figured it out where he has that kind of gentle speed that you need on grass to navigate around.” Shifting attention to Gauff’s struggles on grass at the Wimbledon, Roddick continued, “So I think as the playing surfaces have gotten crazy, I think when something becomes fast I think it exposes certain playing styles that much quicker. Because Coco’s never practiced fast courts in her entire life.”
Highlighting the WTA star’s inevitable weakness in the faster conditions when stepping on grass, Roddick explained, “They’ve just been in this mono surface for so long. Therefore, she has to change everything she’s ever learned for this three-week season and even for superhero Avengers like Coco Gauff, that’s hard.”
Wimbledon Championships 2025 AELTC, Saturday Practice, London, UK – 28/06/2025 Coco Gauff USA Practices at Wimbledon ahead of the 2025 Championships London Wimbledon London GBR, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xMarkxGreenwoodx
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