Coco Gauff reveals the Rafael Nadal move she’s adopting for clay success

Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images

Coco Gauff advances to Stuttgart quarter-finals with straight-sets win

Coco Gauff made a confident start to her clay season, defeating Liudmila Samsonova at the Stuttgart Open.

The American came through a tight opening set before pulling away in the second, winning 7-5, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 event. It’s an important step as she builds toward her French Open title defence in May.

Gauff is coming off a stellar 2025 clay campaign, which included back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome before she capped it all off with her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

She topped world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Paris to finish off an incredible run.

Gauff has long been comfortable on clay, holding a career win rate of over 75% on the surface. At just 22 years old, she’s already shown signs that another strong clay swing could be on the cards this year.

Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images

Gauff responds to victory at the Stuttgart Open

After her win over Samsonova, Gauff spoke on court about how she felt during the match: “Yeah, I mean, I started off a little bit rough, had some break point opportunities in the first game, but yeah, happy to get through today.”

“I never really have easy first-round matches here in Stuttgart, so I guess the trend continued a little bit today, but yeah, I’m happy to be in the next round.”

Asked who she models her game around on clay, Gauff said: “I mean, the greatest clay court player is Rafa [Nadal], 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 [Nadal], but I try to hit like him. So I guess him and then… just me and him.