Coco Gauff sent a one-word message to Amanda Anisimova ahead of the 2025 French Open. The duo met for a practice session ahead of the Grand Slam event the main draw of which will begin on Sunday, May 25.
Anisimova broke through in 2019, when she was just 17 years old. She reached the semifinals at the French Open that year producing her best result at the claycourt Major so far. She was ousted by the eventual champion Ashleigh Barty. This year, she will enter the French Open with a Doha International title under her belt and at a career-high ranking as World No. 16.
Anisimova expressed her excitement at sharpening her on-court skills with Gauff ahead of the French Open by posting a picture of the duo shaking hands at the net. She captioned it:
“@rolandgarros time.”
The post caught Gauff’s attention, and she used fire and heart emojis to send her compatriot a one-word message:
“lfg [lets f***ing go]
Screengrab of Amanda Anisimova’s Instagram @amandaanisimova
Screengrab of Amanda Anisimova’s Instagram @amandaanisimova
Gauff came closest to lifting her maiden Roland Garros trophy at the 2022 French Open, where she lost in the final to Iga Swiatek. The 2023 US Open champion will be one of the strong contenders going into the French Open this year.
Coco Gauff reflects on her clay game ahead of French Open 2025
Coco Gauff at the 2025 French Open pre-tournament press conference. – Image: Getty
Coco Gauff at the 2025 French Open pre-tournament press conference. – Image: Getty
Coco Gauff’s flair on claycourts was evident ever since she was 14 years old. The now 21-year-old was one of the youngest winners of the Girls’ singles at the 2018 French Open.
In a pre-tournament press conference at the 2025 French Open, the American reflected on her game on the surface and recalled taking to the red dirt after her initial success on it.
“I think once I won junior French Open I still didn’t think about it being like a surface thing. But I think once I got on tour, I was like, okay, I actually feel really comfortable on this surface,” she said [0:18 onwards]
She also added being comfortable on hardcourts and on transitioning between the two surfaces.
“I noticed that when I would go from hard to clay, it was pretty easy for me to transition too. So yeah, I’d definitely think its something I’m comfortable on. I think it’s mainly credited to me probably, sliding a lot on hardcourt. So when I go on clay, it just feels a lot easier”.
Coco Gauff will open her 2025 French Open campaign with an opening-round match against Olivia Gadecki on Sunday, May 25.
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