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Coco Gauff endured a disappointing defeat to Jasmine Paolini in the final of the 2025 Italian Open on Saturday, May 17. The performance drew criticism from fans, who expressed their frustration over the American's lackluster showing.
Gauff was aiming to capture her first title of the season in Rome, following a heartbreaking loss in the Madrid Open final to Aryna Sabalenka. She started strong, cruising past Victoria Mboko, Magda Linette, Emma Raducanu, Mirra Andreeva, and Zheng Qinwen to book her place in the final against Paolini.
But things ultimately didn’t go the way the American had hoped. Her serve was off, and she committed far too many unforced errors, something unusual for a player of her caliber. That said, it wasn’t a poor performance from Gauff; Paolini simply outplayed her on the day, feeding off the energy of the home crowd to seal a 6-4, 6-2 win.
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Tennis fans, though, didn’t hold back their disappointment with Coco Gauff’s performance, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their frustration. One wrote:
“Disgusting, I'm genuinely unstanning this mess. The only top 10 player giving wins to Paolini what a loser lol.”
“Happy for Jasmine, well done... in your home town. Extr special... Gauff, if Sabalenka can fix her serve.. you can fix yours too Your serve is the only thing stopping you,” another wrote.
One account posted:
“Kind of a shame that Coco's confidence in her game deteriorated so much at the end of this tournament. Still been super impressed with her fight and grind despite that of course, but this makes me worry for her at RG considering she'll be a strong favourite there.”
“She’s further along than she was for most of the year so there’s that but this was a winnable final so it’s hard to see Coco as a legitimate favourite at Roland Garros at this point,” another wrote.
“I honestly have no idea what to expect from her anymore. There’s not really any explanation for the way her game comes and goes. Everything will be working for a stretch and then on a dime it’ll just be disastrous. The swings in confidence and technique are crazy with her,” another joined in.
Coco Gauff sends message to Jasmine Paolini after Italian Open loss
Coco Gauff's defeat in Rome was a tough pill to swallow, especially with the French Open around the corner. Not having a clay title this season could make things a bit tricky for her in Paris, and the number of errors she made in the final against Jasmine Paolini in Rome raised some eyebrows.
But to her credit, Gauff didn’t let the loss bring her down; she kept her head high and congratulated Paolini with grace. She said during her runner-up speech:
“Congrats, Jasmine, on this incredible achievement. You’re an incredible person & player. It’s always tough playing you. Good luck in the doubles final. I hope you guys can take it home.”
The American is set to be the second seed at Roland Garros.
