Coco Gauff had a surprisingly tough match in the third round of the 2026 French Open. Her opponent, Anastasia Potapova, won the previous two meetings between them, and made it three straight with a stunning three-set upset to knock out the reigning champion.
Gauff, a native of Delray Beach, Florida, entered Roland Garros as a favorite to win again this year. But the sweltering heat in Paris has taken out several of the game’s top stars over the first week, including second-seed Elena Rybakina in the women’s draw and Jannik Sinner, the overwhelming favorite on the men’s side. Earlier in the day, sixth-seeded Amanda Anisimova bowed out on the same court that Gauff would lose on.
The 22-year-old sought to become the first American woman since Monica Seles in 1992 to win back-to-back French Open titles. Instead, she suffered her earliest exit at the clay-court grand slam since losing in the second round in 2020, her first appearance as a 16-year-old.
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Did Coco Gauff win today?
No. Coco Gauff was stunned after winning the first set. Here’s a look at the score:
Gauff served up only three double faults to Potapova’s eight, and she hit 44 unforced errors to Potapova’s 55. But the Florida star failed to maintain the momentum that would push her to rally in matches previously. The crowd wasn’t as loud as it usually is at Court Philippe-Chatrier in part because the Parisian fans were also watching Paris Saint-Germain play Arsenal in the Champions League final soccer match taking place at the same time.
Potapova’s stout defense and strong backhand forced the defending champ into 31 mishits. In a match that featured 14 broken serves (seven apiece), the Russian/Austrian showed the most ability to hold off the runs of the other. She took a 2-0 lead to open the first set then went up 3-0 in the second. Gauff showed she should rebound, taking the last four games to win the first set and working back to force a second-set tiebreak, but she fell flat again with a chance to end the match there as Potapova took 7 of 8 points to force the decisive third.
The Palm Beach Post followed along with all the action at Roland Garros. Keep scrolling for highlights and analysis.
Potapova upsets Coco Gauff
Serving to keep the match alive, Gauff double-faulted to lose her lead in the game, then saw Potapova rip a shot at the net into the open court on a mighty backhand. Gauff sailed a return well wide on the next return, and Potapova dropped to the clay to celebrate her upset win.
“I don’t have any words,” Potapova said after her win, calling it a top-three victory in her career.
What Coco Gauff’s loss means to WTA ranking
Gauff came into the French Open the No. 4 player in the world. After a third-round exit, she’ll drop out of the top 5 for the first time since September 2024.
Potapova injury update
Anastasia Potapova was seen tenderly holding an ice bag on her right forearm after beating Coco Gauff. In the on-court interview, she said she was dealing with some cramping but that she would be all right. She’ll face 22nd-seeded Anna Kalinskaya in the fourth round Monday, June 1.
Coco Gauff major wins
Gauff is stuck at two grand slam victories, beating Aryna Sabalenka in both the 2023 U.S. Open and the 2025 French Open finals. She followed up her victory at Roland Garros last year by exiting in the first round at Wimbledon, which historically has been her worst of the grand slams as she has failed to reach the quarterfinals in six attempts.
Gauff has reached the French Open final twice, winning last year at losing to Iga Swiatek in 2022, and had reached at least the quarterfinals over the past five years until today’s loss.
Who is Anastasia Potapova?
Anastasia Potapova, 25, is ranked No. 30 in the world. Born in Russia but a citizen of Austria, Potapova is a three-time winner on the WTA Tour with her most recent title coming at the 2025 Transylvania Open in Romania, a WTA 250 event (three stages below a grand slam). Her highest career WTA ranking is 21st, achieved in 2023. She’s been on a good stretch during clay-court season, reaching the final at Linz before upsetting No. 2 Elena Rybikina en route to a semifinal appearance in Madrid.
She dropped the first set of the second round against Katie Boulter before rallying to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. She eased past Maya Joint in the opener 6-1, 6-2. By reach the fourth round, Potapova has matched her best result ever at a grand slam, equaling her appearance at the 2024 French Open.
Potapova wins rally, Gauff wins game
An unreal rally ended with Potapova leveling the game at 30, but Gauff managed to hold on for the next two points to hold serve and get the final set to 4-4. The match has been scrappy throughout, with 13 breaks and 99 unforced errors between the two. Gauff hasn’t been the only one getting frustrated with herself, as Potapova has several times turned to the back wall to talk with and settle herself.
Gauff’s frustrations mounting
Gauff could be heard telling herself “get your feet back” after sending a return sailing out of play on her way to getting swept on serve. She opened the next game by rushing the net but sending the return long, much to her building frustration. With double break point, Gauff let Potapova run off four straight points to retake the lead in the set, winning three games in a row. “The defending champion is looking very vulnerable,” TNT commentator Brian Anderson said.
Potapova’s racket slips on serve
Down 1-3 in the set and 0-15 in the game, Potapova sent her racket sliding across the clay when it slipped out of her hand as she went to hit her serve. She held her hand, leading to worries that she had injured a finger, but she continued without delay, even winning the point on her second serve. She even finished the game with her first ace of the day.
Gauff struggling on second serve
Gauff has hit only one double fault to six by Potapova, but her second serves have almost been gimme points for her opponent. The reigning champ won just 8 of 26 of her second-serve points through her 2-1 lead in the third set, a rate of just 31%.
Gauff avoids 2-0 hole for first time
TNT analyst Lindsay Davenport said Gauff needs to make Potapova uncomfortable, “make her defend.” A double fault is all that kept Potapova from breezing to another perfect game to start a set. Gauff did make Potapova stumble as she turned around the second game, evening the set at 1-1. It should be noted that Gauff feeds off energy from the crowd, and the Parisian crowd is emptier than usual as Paris Saint-Germain plays Arsenal in the Champions League final.
Potapova eases to tiebreak win, forces third set
Gauff came into the second-set tiebreaker 60-30 in the extra sessions, but she fell flat against Potapova. Her first double fault of the match gave Potapova her fifth straight point to open the tiebreak, and she hit into the net to wrap up the second set for Potapova. We head to a third set.
French Open tiebreaker rules
A second straight perfect game set up Gauff to receive to break serve and win the match, but Potapova held serve and sent us to a tiebreak. The first to seven points in the tiebreaker will win the set. That changes if this happens again in the final set: In 2022, the French Open switched to a 10-point tiebreaker for a decisive set. In that case, the first to 10 points and lead by two will win.
Gauff evens second set
Gauff is rallying late in the set again. She finally held serve for the first time since her runaway to end the first, then forced Potapova into some bad shots to get to triple break point. Gauff’s backhand seems to be gaining power as the set returns to level. She’s won 11 of the past 13 points and seems ready to put this one away.
Gauff stays alive
Gauff had a chance to break Potapova for a third straight time and extend the second set, but she had two straight unforced errors off the left sideline and into the net on the right. She nearly lost the set on a strong backhand by Potapova on a second-serve return, but Gauff helped the chair umpire by pointing out the shot was just out. She finally got the break on her second attempt. It’s the seventh break of the set (four for Potapova, three for Gauff).
Gauff finally breaks Potapova but gives it right back
A lengthy game saw Gauff rush out to double break point, but she needed four break points and several returns to deuce to finally get on the board. Potapova failed a chance in the first set to get to 5-2, leading to Gauff’s furious comeback. No such luck this time though, as some mishits led to Gauff failing to get a single point on her next serve.
Potapova has five double faults to none for Gauff and has more unforced errors (29-23) early on, but Potapova is forcing the reigning champ into more difficult shots with a strong backhand when she gets into runs. Most importantly, aside from the end of the first set, Potapova hasn’t let Gauff take momentum for long.
Potapova blitzes Gauff to open second set
Potapova one-upped her hot start by taking the first three games from Gauff in Set 2, breaking her serve twice and wresting control of the match. She broke Gauff’s serve twice and could be on a beeline to a decisive third set. Potapova has won 13 of 19 points this set.
Coco Gauff storms back after early struggles
Potapova roared out to a 2-0 lead after winning eight of the match’s first nine points. She got it to 4-2 in the first set before Gauff started cleaning up her misses and forcing Potapova off her rhythm. Gauff broke two serves to take the first set.
How to watch Coco Gauff vs Potapova
French Open draw
Here’s Coco Gauff’s schedule so far and what would lie ahead at the French Open.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Coco Gauff loses to Potapova at French Open: Highlights, analysis
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
