Coco Gauff’s Mom ‘Prays a Lot’ to Stay Calm During Her Matches

Coco Gauff survived a scare once again at the Italian Open. After her straight-set win over Tereza Valentova, the American ace won her next three matches in three sets after losing the first set.

In the fourth round against countrywoman Iva Jovic, the two-time Grand Slam singles champion saved a match point in the second set. Against Andreeva, she registered a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Mirra Andreeva. During the third set, Gauff made an unprecedented error because when she served, the ball, instead of bouncing, landed in the stands.

Gauff looked frustrated after committing the error, but not her mother, Candi Gauff, who looked composed. A social media user shared a picture of Gauff attending one of her matches, wearing a stoic look. Candi revealed that she prays a lot during matches to remain calm and composed.

There are a lot of churches in Rome. Just say I have visited several. I do pray a lot. A mom’s job is never done, including for my two sons. (BWT I don’t pray for wins.)

Candi Gauff wrote in the Instagram comment section

Mama Gauff says prayer’s the key to her staying so composed during Coco matches 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/FrLtsGAeG2

— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) May 13, 2026

Gauff has scheduled her semifinal match against Sorana Cirstea, who knocked out 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the previous round. The 22-year-old will be playing the Italian Open semifinal for the fourth time in her career.

She was, in fact, the runner-up in Rome last year, losing to Jasmine Paolini. Gauff is chasing her third clay-court title and also her first title of the season. She has reached just one final since winning her third WTA 1000 singles title at the 2025 Wuhan Open. It was at the Miami Open that Gauff played the final but failed to defeat World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Coco Gauff on compartmentalization to stay focused during matches

After her three-set win over Solana Sierra in the third round of the Italian Open, Coco Gauff admitted that she has been dealing with “personal things off court” and that sometimes she “didn’t feel motivated to go on the court.” After her win over Iva Jovic, Gauff was asked at the press conference whether she has a method of compartmentalizing to remain focused during matches.

At times I find like I can do a good job of being able to compartmentalize person, tennis, and everything. But sometimes things mix. Yeah, I wasn’t really proud of the way I showed up in my last match. Today I was like, I’m not going to be like that. I thought I did a good job.

Before arriving in the Italian capital, Gauff lost to Linda Noskova in the Madrid Open fourth round and to Karolina Muchova in the Stuttgart Open quarterfinal. Gauff has also become the third-youngest woman to reach 15 WTA 1000 semifinals, after Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova.

Obviously, there’s moments I did get negative. I’m not perfect. I’m a work in progress. I think today, for the most part, I thought I was really mentally sound. I think that’s something to be proud of and be able to try to remember the next time I’m in a moment like that.

Coco Gauff added

Last year on the clay swing, Gauff, prior to her Italian Open final defeat, lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final. But she clinched her second Major singles title by defeating the Belarusian in the French Open final.

Gauff, after improving her head-to-head record over Mirra Andreeva to a perfect 5-0, will be hoping to improve her head-to-head record over Sorana Cirstea to 4-0. If Gauff wins, she will play Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, or Elina Svitolina in the title clash.

Also read: Alexander Zverev Slams Court Conditions in Fiery Presser After Italian Open Exit