Italian Open 2026: Coco Gauff holds nerve to move past teenager Tereza Valentová into third round
Coco Gauff is continuing to acclimatise herself to the clay ahead of her Roland-Garros title defence, as she began her Italian Open 2026 campaign with a victory.The USA tennis star prevailed in one hour, 34 minutes against unseeded teenager Tereza Valentová, winning 6-3, 6-4 in the second round on Thursday (7 May).Third seed Gauff awaits the winner of Solana Sierra and Anhelina Kalinina, who meet later on Thursday in the second round. The 21-year-old is on the right tracks to avenge her 2025 final defeat in the Italian capital this time round."I had a couple game points and I didn't really take them," said Gauff. "It was tough, she raised her level. It would obviously be great to have a deep run here and have a good preparation ahead of Roland-Garros."The world No. 4 struggled with service on the heavy Roman courts, as seven double faults and a 62 per cent first-serve percentage provided opportunity for Valentová to strike back.Although the 19-year-old, standing at 48th in the WTA rankings, shone on pressure points, Gauff’s experience proved vital to weather the storm on Campo Centrale.A nervous start on serve did not faze the U.S. player, who clinched a double break swiftly with a backhand net winner, though Valentová struck back with her own double break in the same period.Having lost three of the previous four games, Gauff composed herself to take the first set in 39 minutes, one that appeared on the scoreboard simpler than it was.Broken for the fourth time in six service games, Valentová came into a crucial sixth game aiming to break back. On the fourth attempt, her U.S. opponent shanked a forehand and the Czech teenager was level at 3-3.The momentum shift was short-lived; Gauff responded with a devastating break to love before both players secured double breaks in a tantalising second set. Gauff, 21, was not going to let it slip and held to love to secure the win in Rome.
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