Coco Gauff recently revealed how she is cruising through the Italian Open with the help of Christian gospel music. The American is currently gearing up for her semi-final appearance in Rome.
Gauff opened her Italian Open run on May 7 against Terez Valentova, where she bested the Czech athlete to advance to the next round with a 6-3, 6-4 win. With continued dominance, she defeated several top-notch players, including Solana Sierra, Iva Jovic, Mirra Andreeva, and more, to reach the semifinal round.
Her latest matchup was against Andreeva in the quarterfinal round, where the American started with a loss in the first set; however, she picked up her momentum in the next two sets, claiming a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory, progressing to the semifinals. Following her triumph, she sat for a post-match press conference, where she fielded questions surrounding the ins and outs of her performance at the tournament.
Amid this, she was asked about what the soundtrack of her winning and her comebacks this week would be. Responding to this, she said that she listened to gospel music a lot at the tournament.
“Before matches it’s a lot of gospel music honestly because I’ve just been a little bit on edge lately. Just something to calm me down. Honestly during the matches, I’m not really thinking about any music,” said Coco Gauff.
Coco Gauff opened up about her performance at the Italian Open’s quarterfinal
In the aforementioned interview, Coco Gauff also discussed her performance on the court. One of the reporters asked her if she would consider this performance the best one of the week, and replying to this, the 22-year-old admitted to playing a ‘lot better.’ Stating that she has raised her level, she said:
“Yeah, I definitely think this match I was playing a lot better. Especially with my forehand and return, I thought I did well with that. Obviously wish I could have closed it out a little bit earlier in the third. She definitely raised her level. I put myself in the position to win on pretty much every game. Yeah, I think overall I’m definitely happy with how I played,” said Coco Gauff.
She also made her feelings known about playing in the Italian Open conditions, adding:
“I mean, obviously it’s tough. I think it’s good for me. Also it’s tough for me ’cause, I don’t know, I felt when the balls are getting heavy, it was tough. There was one game where I just felt like I could not get the return deep. I ended up winning the game. I just felt like I couldn’t get it deep enough in the court. She was killing me on the short balls. Yeah, I think it’s a win-win and a lose-lose sometimes for me. I think it just depends on the player.”
Coco Gauff is all set to face Sorana Cristea in the semifinal round of the tournament on May 14, 2026.
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