
LIV CEO: League has backing to finish '26 season
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil assures financial backing for the 2026 season amid funding concerns.
Coco Gauff has reached the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open and will face Karolina Muchova. She is confident due to her strong past performances against Muchova and her recent win in Miami.
Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images
Coco Gauff is through to the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open and will take on Karolina Muchova later today.
Sheâs dominated their past meetings, so this is a match sheâll feel confident about, especially with how the draw has opened up on her side.
With a number of big names stacked on the other half of the bracket, this could be a great chance for her to make it back-to-back finals following her recent win in Miami, getting her clay season off to an ideal start.
After easing past Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets, Gauff spoke about how she feels playing on clay right now and gave some thoughts on how her serve is holding up.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
Itâs no secret that Gauffâs serve has been a talking point for quite some time, with Gavin MacMillan brought in to help address the issue.
The 22-year-old was still finding ways to win, despite it often feeling like she was playing with one hand tied behind her back. Just getting results during that period is impressive in itself.
Speaking to reporters about returning to clay as the defending Roland Garros champion, she said: âYeah, I mean, I wouldnât say â obviously the first time defending champion, I feel like I have come into it with being a favourite, one of the favourites before, maybe not âtheâ favourite.â
âHow would I put this tournament? Honestly, I donât know,â she continued. âFor me itâs just trying to find my groove here. I donât do well here. Iâm trying to break that curse. I broke it in Miami so hoping to break it here.â
âI donât also put a lot of expectations on this tournament because it is a clay that I donât think suits my game. I think it suits bigger maybe flatter hitters because of the indoors but yeah definitely think happy just to get through today.â
Coco Gauff has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open.
Coco Gauff will play against Karolina Muchova in the quarter-finals.
Coco Gauff has dominated her past meetings with Karolina Muchova.
Coco Gauff recently won the Miami Open, marking a strong start to her clay season.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil assures financial backing for the 2026 season amid funding concerns.

Guardiola warns title race ends if City loses to Arsenal this weekend

Meet Dillon Brooks: The NBA's biggest antagonist beloved by teammates

WNBA training camps open with key questions for each team.
Miami Dolphins bring in DE A.J. Epenesa for a free agent visit as they seek defensive replacements.
Deco encounters major challenges in planning Barcelona's summer transfers.
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
On her serve specifically, she said: âYeah, made some changes and yeah better⊠Yeah pretty well today thought. Obviously had some moments where there were doubles but could have been â had five really could have been three should have got out of that 4-0 game a bit quicker.â
âHappy how served today think earned me a lot of free points and especially kick.â
After defeating Samsonova, Gauff was asked about the player who has influenced her most on clay.
Her response was immediate and predictable, pointing to Rafael Nadal as the obvious choice.
However, she made it clear that while she draws inspiration from him, she doesnât compare herself to him in terms of playing style or success, joking: âI mean, the greatest clay court player is Rafa, but I donât quite play like him, but I do try to hit my forehand like he does on clay.
âI donât run around as much because my forehand isnât as good as Rafaâs, but I try to hit like him. So I guess itâs just me and him. Like a Walmart version of Rafa. Not trying to get roasted online or anythingâjust a much lesser version.â
Nadal has recently been working with Iga Swiatek as she prepares for the clay season, alongside her new coach Francisco Roig.
Read more: