French Open 2026: Defending champion Coco Gauff reaches second round
What's the story
Coco Gauff started her French Open title defense with a straight-set win over her fellow American Taylor Townsend. Gauff claimed a 6-4, 6-0 win in the women's singles first-round clash on Philippe-Chatrie Court after over an hour. Interestingly, Townsend broke Gauff in the match's first game. Gauff hasn't ever lost in the first round at Roland Garros. Here are the key stats.
Stats
A look at match stats
While Gauff won 66 points, Townsend fired 22 winners in the match. The former had a win percentage of 66 and 50 on the first and second serves, respectively. She converted six of her 12 break points. The fourth seed had fewer unforced errors (15) than Townsend (31) throughout the match. The two players served an ace each.
Title
Stellar numbers of Gauff
Last year, Gauff claimed her maiden French Open title after beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Gauff became the third player competing for the United States of America to secure the women's singles title at Roland Garros since 1990, joining Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams. Gauff is now 28-5 at Roland Garros and 79-24 at Grand Slams.