Coco Gauff wins after forgetting rackets

Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – May 27, 2025 Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates after winning her first round match against Australia’s Olivia Gadecki REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

PARIS–Coco Gauff forgot to bring her rackets to the court but reminded her rivals of her French Open title ambitions with a commanding win on  Tuesday.

Former Roland Garros runner-up Gauff provided early comic relief as the second seed grinned sheepishly and showed her empty bag to her entourage, who scampered to reunite her with her equipment before she thumped Olivia Gadecki 6-2 6-2.

READ: Jasmine Paolini makes history seeing off Gauff to win Italian Open

“Honestly, I thought they put the rackets in the bag, and my side court bag is filled with drinks and everything,” Gauff told Sloane Stephens on TNT.

“So it felt like I had enough weight. Then I got on court, and I opened the first zipper. I was like, ‘OK, no rackets’. The second zipper … ‘Oh my God. I went on court with no rackets. Usually JC (coach Jean-Christophe Faurel) puts them in.

“I’ll see what happened.”

When you forget your rackets @CocoGauff pic.twitter.com/bG3hbaTuWW

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 27, 2025

The Madrid and Rome finalist made up for the delayed start by easing through the first three games and wrapped up the opening set with a battling hold after dropping her service earlier.

There was no looking back from there as Gauff tightened her grip on the contest despite the challenging conditions.

Gauff’s compatriot and former runner-up Sofia Kenin also advanced to the second round after a 6-3 6-1 win over French number one Varvara Gracheva while Hailey Baptiste beat 2023 semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6 6-3 6-1.

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka became the oldest woman in the professional era since 1968 to win a singles Grand Slam main-draw match with a 6-0 6-0 scoreline, after the 35-year-old dished out a double bagel to Yanina Wickmayer.

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, breezed past Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-4 6-4 while sixth seed Mirra Andreeva beat Cristina Bucsa 6-4 6-3 to underline her title credentials after an inspired run to last year’s semi-finals.