Coco Gauff Rates Herself as the “Walmart Version” of Rafael Nadal on Clay

Coco Gauff has won just two clay titles, while Rafael Nadal claimed 63 tour-level crowns on the same surface.

Coco Gauff Rates Herself as the “Walmart Version” of Rafael Nadal on Clay

Coco Gauff and Rafael Nadal (via X/The Tennis Letter)

In Short
  • Coco Gauff compares her clay court game to Rafael Nadal, calling herself the "Walmart version" of the tennis legend.
  • Gauff has reached multiple finals on clay, including a Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, but acknowledges Nadal's unmatched record.
  • She advanced to the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open after defeating Liudmila Samsonova and will face Karolina Muchova next.

In the past few years, Coco Gauff has proven that she can play her best tennis on clay. However, while this is the case, the American star was quick to rebuff claims that she was in the same discussion as Rafael Nadal following her triumph over Liudmila Samsonova at the Stuttgart Open on Thursday (April 16).

There is a growing case for comparing Nadal and Gauff. Last year, Gauff was supreme on clay, reaching the same number of finals as Aryna Sabalenka. She got to the WTA 1000 finals in Madrid and Rome, losing respectively against Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.

However, she would then double her efforts at the Roland Garros, winning her second Grand Slam singles after inflicting revenge on Sabalenka. She first reached the final of the Roland Garros in 2022, and since then has reached at least the quarter-finals of every French Open she has competed in.

But that cannot be compared to Nadal’s mind-blowing record on clay. The 39-year-old, who trained with Iga Swiatek at his Academy, has won the French Open a record 14 times and 112 matches at Roland Garros, losing just 4. Also, on clay, he won 63 titles, including 12 Barcelona Open, 11 Monte Carlo Masters, and 10 Rome Masters.

At the Stuttgart Open, Gauff hopes to claim her first title of the season and first on clay since the French Open last year. But that looks like a difficult task with Swiatek and Elena Rybakina also vying for the title. She revealed during her post-match press conference that she’s nowhere near the achievement of Nadal on tour:

The greatest clay court player is Rafa. I don’t quite play like him, but I do try to hit my forehand the way he does on clay. I don’t run around as much because my forehand isn’t as good as Rafa. But I do try to hit it like him. Like a Walmart version of Rafa. I don’t want to be obliterated online. Like a lesser version of Rafa. It’s a surface which I love and hate.

Gauff is yet to win a title this season on tour. She reached her first championship match of the year at the Miami Open last month, but collapsed to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. She struggled with her service game on the court earlier this season, but since the Miami Open, she has been getting better, and her faults have drastically reduced.

Coco Gauff reveals the difference between playing on hard and clay court

Coco Gauff surprisingly found herself 0-3 behind in the early stages of her encounter with Liudmila Samsonova in the round of 16 of the Stuttgart Open. But the American star kept her cool and found her route back into the match 3-2. But the Russian star surprisingly broke Gauff again, but the 22-year-old charged back.

Coco Gauff (2)
Coco Gauff (Image via X/Coco Gauff)

Gauff won the first set 7-5, and then in the second set sailed into a 4-0 lead while dropping just two points. She went on to win the match 7-5, 6-1, earning a place in the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open. During the aforementioned, she revealed the difference between playing on hard and clay courts:

Today there were some points where I hated it and some points where I loved it, but obviously I have a lot of success on clay, so I definitely think it’s a surface that suits my playing style. I like cutting and changing direction more on hard courts, the sliding can be a little bit unpredictable sometimes. It’s fun when you hit some good ones but it’s also not fun when you are falling on the ground.

Gauff will face Karolina Muchova for a place in the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open. It was at this same stage of the competition that she crashed out last year. This season, she has a lot of points to defend on clay, and making a good start at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will give her confidence entering the Madrid Open.

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