CoCo Vandeweghe assessed Coco Gauff’s disappointing start to the grass court season.
Almost two weeks after her French Open triumph, the 21-year-old made the transition from clay to grass, with Wimbledon on the horizon.
She faced Wang Xinyu, the same player who Gauff defeated in Berlin back in 2022, but the World number 49 turned the tables on the American.
Wang claimed a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Gauff and as a result the American lost her first match of the 2025 grass court season.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesWhat did CoCo Vandeweghe say about Coco Gauff’s defeat at the Berlin Open?
Coco Gauff looked out of sorts as she hit 25 unforced errors and registered seven double faults.
Wang defeated Gauff for the first time in her career and in the process claimed her second successive top 20 win of 2025 after defeating Daria Kasatkina in the previous round.
It is not the ideal start to Gauff’s stint on grass, but her compatriot and former WTA player CoCo Vandeweghe thinks this can be turned into a positive for the World number two.
“I just don’t even think this shakes her confidence at all. This is not going to be her best surface, but you know what she is going to do,” Vandeweghe told Tennis Channel.
“She is going to take this loss and really work on herself. That is what we have seen time and time again from Coco Gauff. She is the ultimate competitor.
“That is what we always see from Coco, as much as we talk about the negative aspects of what goes wrong in her game, what we don’t talk about enough is what goes right.
“When the chips are down and she needs to fight and be the dog out there and just grind out situations, good or bad, she does it time and time again. I almost like that she lost, to not have the euphoria state of I am the Grand Slam champion kind of swagger walking around the court.
“She has a chip on her shoulder now, like we are having right now. [People are saying] Coco Gauff doesn’t have a chance at Wimbledon, this isn’t her best surface. When does Coco Gauff thrive? In those moments.”
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesWhat did Coco Gauff say about her Berlin Open defeat?
Gauff has struggled on grass since she reached the Wimbledon fourth round as a 15-year-old in 2019.
The 21-year-old has yet to progress beyond the round of 16 at SW19 and she is currently without a title on grass.
She is now set to head into Wimbledon with just one grass court match under her belt, but Gauff is keeping her spirits up despite her recent defeat.
“It was a tough one today but I’m happy to be back on court,” she posted on social media. “I tried my best to adjust with the quick turnaround but it wasn’t enough.
“As always, I’m learning as I go so I hope to do better next time. Thank you Berlin for the short but sweet visit, I’ll come back stronger next year.”