French Open 2026: Can Coco Gauff retain title? How to watch defending champion live

Defending champion Coco Gauff returns to Roland-Garros 2026 (24 May-7 June) with a title to protect and the clay-court form to do it.

The 22-year-old American tennis star claimed her second Grand Slam at last year's French Open, rallying past world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka after dropping the opening set. Her first major had come at the 2023 US Open.

She arrives in Paris having reached the Rome final, but coming up short against Elina Svitolina. Gauff’s clay record for the year stands at 8-3.

The 22-year-old is the fourth seed in Paris.

The draw places her in the same quarter as sixth seed Amanda Anisimova, her potential opponent in the quarter-finals. The pair have split their three meetings with Anisimova ahead 2-1.

They have met only once on clay – back in the quarter-finals of Parma in 2021 – with Gauff coming out the victor, 6-3, 6-3. Their last meeting was an Anisimova win on hard court at the 2025 China Open. The score there was 6-1, 6-2.

At Roland Garros, Gauff opens against another American in Taylor Townsend. Sabalenka and Gauff could potentially meet for a rematch of last year’s final in this year’s semi-final.

If she makes it past Sabalenka, she could potentially meet Elena Rybakina, the second seed and 2026 Australian Open winner, in the final.

Here is how you can follow Gauff at Roland Garros.

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