May 27, (THEWILL) – Coco Gauff began her 2025 French Open campaign with a convincing 6-2 6-2 victory over Olivia Gadecki on Tuesday, though not before forgetting her tennis rackets at the locker room. The second seed’s equipment oversight provided an amusing start to proceedings at Roland Garros, with her team rushing to retrieve the missing rackets before the match could commence on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The American player handled the delay with characteristic composure, later acknowledging that the incident may have helped calm her nerves. “The most important thing is to play with a racket,” Gauff stated after her first-round triumph. She subsequently shared a humorous social media post featuring a to-do list with “put tennis rackets in bag” remaining unchecked.
Following the brief equipment drama, Gauff showed her championship credentials by taking control early in the match. The Madrid and Rome finalist won the opening three games before maintaining her advantage throughout the first set, despite briefly losing her serve. Her dominant performance continued in the second set, where she consolidated her position to close out the match efficiently.
Gauff will now face Tereza Valentova in the second round, with the 2023 US Open champion looking to build on her strong clay court form from earlier in the season. The 21-year-old’s ability to maintain focus despite the pre-match confusion bodes well for her title aspirations at the tournament where she has previously reached the final.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
