Why Aryna Sabalenka should be delighted watching Coco Gauff’s latest performance in Rome

Gauff delivered another underwhelming performance, struggling against a player ranked 68 places below her.

Do you still believe Coco Gauff can defend her French Open title?

Another shaky performance on the clay…

If Aryna Sabalenka watched that match, she would be feeling pretty confident heading into Roland Garros…

Aryna Sabalenka is becoming a clear favourite to win Roland Garros as Coco Gauff struggles

12 months ago, Gauff defeated Sabalenka in the French Open final, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.

The Belarusian had her chances, but failed to adjust to the windy conditions, falling to defeat in three sets.

A year on, Gauff is preparing to defend her Roland Garros title, but things haven’t gone to plan.

Since switching to the clay, Gauff has been unable to rediscover the form she showed on the surface a year ago.

Coco Gauff’s 2025 clay-court record (18-3)

• Stuttgart Open – QF
• Madrid Open – F
• Italian Open – F
• French Open – W

Coco Gauff’s 2026 clay-court record (4-2)

• Stuttgart Open – QF
• Madrid Open – 4R
• Italian Open – 4R*

Last year, Gauff reached the finals of both clay-court WTA 1000 events before Roland Garros.

She’s already fallen below those standards in 2026, losing in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.

And if her first two performances in Rome are anything to go by, she won’t be returning to the Italian Open final, either.

Gauff looks a shell of the player she was a year ago, and was, in all honesty, fortunate to beat Sierra in the third round.

Had she lost, the American would have begun her French Open title defence with a 3-3 record on clay.

Now, the positive news for Gauff, is that she didn’t lose.

As she so often does, Gauff found a way, fighting to victory in Rome.

Coco Gauff vs Solana Sierra – Match stats

A win is a win, but Gauff will need to play better when she returns for her fourth-round match against either Taylor Townsend or Iva Jovic.

During Sky Sports’ post-match coverage, British tennis player Eden Silva delivered her verdict on Gauff’s performance.

“In no means is she going to be happy with her performance or her body language in that match,” she said.

“Today, it looked like she didn’t want to lose more than she wanted to win; that was sort of what she was behaving like on court.

“You could see it, it was so visual, but as we’ve said so often, they don’t put how you’ve won next to your name, it’s just a win, so she lives to fight another day.”

Has Aryna Sabalenka been convincing on clay this year?

For all the talk of Gauff struggling on the red dirt, it’s worth mentioning that Sabalenka has been far from perfect.

Yes, she hasn’t looked as shaky as her American rival, but the world number one didn’t exactly set the world alight in Madrid.

After skipping the Stuttgart Open, Sabalenka travelled to the Spanish capital looking to defend her title.

But she failed to do so, as Sabalenka lost to Hailey Baptiste in the quarter-finals.

In Sabalenka’s defence, Baptiste played a wonderful match, and few players would have stopped her on that day.

Still, as we approach the second Grand Slam of the season, Sabalenka has only won a handful of matches on clay and has yet to pick up a title.

By her standards, that’s cause for concern.

She does, however, have a chance to redeem herself, and further establish herself as a French Open favourite in her third-round match.

Sabalenka will meet Romania’s Sorana Cirstea for a place in the last 16.

Supposedly retiring at the end of the year, Cirstea is playing some of the best tennis of her career, and very nearly upset Gauff at the Madrid Open recently.

• 2026 Madrid Open 3R – Coco Gauff defeated Sorana Cirstea, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1

If Sabalenka can make light work of Cirstea, a player who troubled Gauff in Madrid, then there will surely be no doubts over who is favourite to win Roland Garros.

Sabalenka will play Cirstea in the third round of the Italian Open on Saturday, May 9.