Coco Gauff is hoping to come back stronger in the 2026 Madrid Open after quarterfinal heartbreak against Karolina Muchova in the Stuttgart Open. Before that tournament, Gauff reached the finals of the Miami Open, where she was defeated by World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
The WTA 1000 tournament will be played from April 21 to May 3 at Caja Mágica. There are 96 players in the draw, including 32 seeded players. The seeded players receive a first-round bye.
Coco Gauff’s Madrid Open 2026 Bracket Revealed
Coco Gauff has been handed the third seed in the tournament behind Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. In her opening match (Round of 64), she will face the winner of Oksana Selekhmeteva and a qualifier.
Going ahead, in the Round of 32, things will start to heat up. A potential matchup against Sorana Cîrstea could be waiting. By the second week, Gauff will face seeded competition, potentially between Liudmila Samsonova and Linda Noskova. Samsonova could be a particularly tricky matchup for Gauff as her aggressive baseline game can be dangerous on clay. Meanwhile, Noskova’s ground strokes are also lethal.
In the quarterfinals, Gauff would probably face either Jessica Pegula or Clara Tauson. Pegula’s IQ and nature to prolong rallies could really test the patience of Gauff.
Gauff would face elite competition in the semifinals. Top seeds like Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko could be waiting for her here. Rybakina’s powerful serve would not be easy to deal with.
Should Gauff reach the finals, she would face top names from the other part of the draw, including Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka. Svitolina particulary has already beaten her twice this year.
Coco Gauff Takes After Rafael Nadal But in Lesser “Walmart” Sense
Among all the surfaces, clay is probably the best, with the American pro winning 75 percent of her matches. She was recently asked which player she looks upto on this surface and without any hesitation she picked 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal.
“I mean, the greatest clay court player is Rafa, but I don’t quite play like him. But I do try to hit my forehand like he does on clay. “I don’t run around as much because my forehand isn’t as good as Rafa’s. But I try to hit like him. So I guess him. And then it’s just me and him.”
She went ahead and compared herself to “the Walmart version of Rafa.”
“I don’t know. Like a Walmart version of Rafa. Not a lesser version of Rafa,” she added.
Gauff is the defending champion at the French Open and the tournament in Madrid and then in Rome are important in the leadup to Roland Garros.
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