Coco Gauff had a much more eventful start to her French Open title defense than anyone expected. Before even stepping onto the clay courts at Roland Garros on Tuesday, the tennis star found herself dealing with a minor car accident, a damaged vehicle, a rushed taxi ride, and even a wardrobe mishap just moments before her match.
Despite the chaotic morning in Paris, Gauff still managed to cruise past fellow American Taylor Townsend in straight sets, defeating her 6-4, 6-0 in just one hour and 22 minutes.
Speaking afterward with TNT Sports, Gauff explained how the unexpected drama unfolded on her way to the tournament grounds.
“We kind of got into a mini car accident on my way to the site today,” Gauff said with a laugh. “So, there’s like this pole thing, and it’s supposed to go down, and the police told him to go, and the pole was still there, so we ran into it.”
According to Gauff, the vehicle struck a retractable bollard after what appeared to be a miscommunication with police directing traffic near the venue. While no one in the car was hurt, the impact was strong enough to render the vehicle undrivable.
“You felt a little impact; I spilled my juice all over the car,” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘We can keep going.’ Then I walk out of the car, and the car is not drivable.”
The sudden accident forced Gauff and her team to change plans quickly. She explained that they first grabbed a taxi before eventually switching into a tournament vehicle to make it to Roland Garros in time for her opening-round match.
“So we end up taking a taxi to Jean Bouin, and then we took the tournament car to the tournament,” she said. “I feel like it’s a good omen, maybe.”
As if the travel chaos was not enough, Gauff said the surprises kept coming once she arrived at the venue. Her match schedule suddenly shifted after Alexandre Müller retired during his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, causing Gauff to head onto Court Philippe-Chatrier earlier than expected.
Then came another unexpected problem.
“And then right before I got on court, my dress got stuck, so my physio was in the bathroom trying to help me take it off,” Gauff shared. “It was an eventful day. But I feel like whenever that happens, it lets you not think about the match too much. I’m just happy to be here in one piece.”
Once the match started, though, Gauff looked completely locked in. The fourth-seeded American shook off a competitive opening set before dominating the second against Townsend, continuing her push for a second French Open title and third Grand Slam championship overall.
Gauff enters this year’s tournament in the same half of the draw as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who also secured a first-round victory earlier in the day.
After falling short while attempting to defend her 2023 US Open title, Gauff has made it clear she is trying not to overwhelm herself with pressure this time around. Judging from her wild start to the tournament, she may already have enough unexpected excitement to deal with before the real battle on the clay even begins.
