Coco Gauff faced an unexpected opponent on her way to her latest match: a car accident.
On Tuesday, the defending French Open champion revealed that she was involved in a “mini car accident” on the way to Roland-Garros in Paris.
“We kind of got into a mini car accident on my way to the site today,” Gauff told TNT Sports. “There’s this pole [on the road] that’s supposed to go down, and then the police told [the driver] to go, and the pole was still there, so we ran into it.
“You felt a little impact. I spilled my juice all over the car,” Gauff continued.“I was like, ‘We can keep going,’ then I walked out of the car, and the car was not driveable.
Because of the accident, Gauff was delayed in getting to the match. But she saw the positive side of the matter.
“I feel like it’s a good omen, maybe?” Gauff said. “It was an eventful day. I feel like whenever that happens, it lets you not think about the match too much … It’s more about “I’m just happy to be here in one piece.”
Chris Eubanks, Gauff’s friend and former pro tennis player, also shared his perspective on the wild day.
“Pretty crazy start to your title defense,” he said.
GAUFF DEFEATS TAYLOR TOWNSEND
On the court, Gauff kicked off her 2026 French Open campaign in dominant fashion. She won in commanding straight-sets victory (6-4, 6-0) over fellow American Taylor Townsend on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Entering Roland Garros as the No. 4 seed, Gauff shook off early resistance in a competitive first set before completely locking in to deliver a flawless, bagel-set masterclass in the second. Converting 6 of 12 break points and rattling off seven consecutive games, Gauff displayed the kind of clinical, clay-court precision that marks her as a perennial title threat in Paris, smoothly advancing to a second-round matchup against Mayar Sherif.