Coco Gauff forgot something crucial before her first-round match at the French Open on Tuesday: her rackets.
Gauff looked puzzled when she opened her bag and realized her rackets weren’t there. A few minutes later, a ball boy ran out onto Court Philippe-Chatrier, delivering her rackets.
After her match against Australian Olivia Gadecki, Gauff jokingly pointed the finger at her coach for the racket mishap.
“Honestly, as long as I’ve been on tour, my coach has always put the rackets in my bag before the match because he’s very superstitious,” she said, via the Associated Press. “I’m blaming it on my coach. It’s OK.”
The racket gaffe didn’t hinder Gauff. The 21-year-old American dominated, beating Gadecki 6-2, 6-2. She also won on 68% of her first serves.
Gadecki wished Gauff had left her rackets in the locker room.
“Now that I think about it, it seems like that was the only way I was going to win the match,” Gadecki said, per the Associated Press. “It was a funny little incident.”
No. 2 seed Gauff is slated to face Czech Tereza Valentova in the second round on Thursday. That matchup could be another victory for Gauff. Valentova, 18, is 20-6 this season but is making her Grand Slam debut.
Gauff, meanwhile, reached the French Open final in 2022 and semifinal last season. This season, she is 24-8 and has reached the final of two of her past three tournaments.
Gauff forgot her rackets on Tuesday, but she didn’t forget to bring her game. If she keeps playing at a high level, she could make another deep run at Roland-Garros.
