French Open 2026: Defending champion Coco Gauff gets knocked out
What's the story
Defending champion Coco Gauff's title defense at the French Open came to a shocking end on Saturday. The American star was knocked out by 28th seed Anastasia Potapova in a thrilling third-round match. The contest lasted for two hours and 37 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier, with Potapova coming back from the brink of defeat in the second set to win 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.
Match highlights
Potapova's 2nd round of 16 appearance at Grand Slams
Potapova's victory marked her second career Grand Slam Round of 16 appearance at Grand Slams. Notably, both of her R16 appearances have come at Roland Garros. She is now 10-5 at Roland Garros and 24-24 overall at Slams. Meanwhile, Gauff is now 29-6 at Roland Garros. Overall, she is 80-25 at Slams. Gauff remains a two-time Grand Slam champion and a one-time runner-up.
Injury impact
Gauff affected by Hailey Baptiste's injury
Along with her match against Potapova, Gauff was also affected by the injury of fellow American Hailey Baptiste. Baptiste had to retire from her second-round match after suffering a serious knee injury against Wang Xiyu. She later revealed that she had torn her ACL and damaged her meniscus. Gauff publicly supported Baptiste after learning about the injury.
Support message
Gauff sends message of support to Baptiste
Gauff expressed her emotional reaction to Baptiste's injury and sent a public message of support on social media. "I know you will come back stronger Hailey! Sending love," she wrote. The world No. 4 praised Baptiste's character and journey, saying, "Hailey's someone who's always been really nice on and off the court, regardless of where she's been in the rankings or regardless of where I've been in the rankings."
Information
A real test for Gauff
The match was a test for Gauff, who had been unbeaten in the third round at Roland Garros until now (5-0). This is also her first loss at the clay-court major against someone other than Iga Swiatek since Barbora Krejcikova in 2021.
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Unique record for Potapova
As per Opta, Potapova is the first player competing for Austria to defeat the women's singles defending champion at Majors - they were holding a 0-13 record in such meetings.