(May 30, 2026) Anastasia Potapova knocked out defending champion and No. 4 Coco Gauff 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the third round of the French Open on Saturday. It’s the third straight time the Austrian has beaten the American in their head-to-head meetings.
“She was able to finish the points and I wasn’t,” Gauff said. “Just not capitalizing on certain shots.”
The 30th seed Potapova was born in Russia but now represents Austria. The Austrian is coming off a clay court season reaching a final in Linz, Austria, and the final four of the Madrid Open as a qualifier.
Gauff is coming off an Italian Open final where she had to deal with very long rallies.
“I lost the same way in Rome as I did here,” Gauff said. “You never want to lose the same way back-to-back times.”
“Coco is such a champion. I respect her so much,” Potapova said. “I’ve been fighting for the last point and here I am.”
For Potapova, this is just her second time reaching the Round of 16 at a major tennis championship for the second time in her career.
This was Gauff’s first loss at the French Open to anyone other than Iga Swiatek, with the exception of when she lost to champion Barbora Krejcikova in 202,
“It [was] such a fight from both of us,” Potapova said after the match. “I mean, we left it all out there, and I’m happy that I stayed until the last moment that I’ve been fighting for every point and that I got through.”
“I think I feel like I lost the same way in Rome as I did here, which is not good,” she said. “I don’t know. You never want to lose the same way back-to-back times, and I did, and I feel like also in Madrid, it was a similar thing, losing the same way.
“It’s one thing to lose, but I think today I didn’t – I mean, I competed, like, I fought my hardest, but I don’t think I played the way I wanted to in the crucial moments.”
Potopova will be playing No. 22 Anna Kalinskaya for a spot in the quarterfinals.
