The pressure of the tour can be mounting with each tournament. But Coco Gauff has a simple way to block out the noise and find her peace before stepping onto the court. After securing a hard-fought win over Mirra Andreeva to reach the semifinals, Gauff shared exactly how she handles her pre-match anxiety.
Coco Gauff Reveals the Pregame Musical Routine Calming Her Match Nerves
On Tuesday night, the world No. 4 defeated the 19-year-old Russian 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a match that lasted almost two and a half hours. Gauff started slow, giving up an early break and struggling with her serve as Andreeva took the opening set. However, the American flipped the script in the second set, breaking the teenager’s serve twice to force a decider.
“Just trying to stay here mentally again, obviously I had a big lead in the third set and it got a little bit close,” Gauff said after the match. “She’s a great player, she’s capable of winning games. I think I learned a little bit on how to close those out. I’m glad I was able to win… I don’t know how many match points it was.”
This marked Gauff’s eighth comeback victory after dropping the first set this year, the most of any player on the WTA Tour. It also kept her perfectly undefeated against Andreeva across all their career meetings. Obviously, for such comebacks, a player needs a high level of mental fortitude, and Gauff shared her musical help in managing anxiety when a reporter asked what soundtrack she listens to before the match.
“Before matches it’s a lot of gospel music honestly because I’ve just been a little bit on edge lately,” Gauff revealed to reporters during her post-match press conference. “Just something to calm me down. Honestly during the matches, I’m not really thinking about any music.”
However, music is more than just a stress reliever for her. while gospels help her in Rome, Gauff also opened up about her pre-match hype tracks in 2025. She shared childhood memories of family dancing to Frankie Beverly’s “Before I Let Go”, Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” as her high school anthem and a source of confidence on tour, and Tyler, The Creator’s “Thought I Was Dead” as a pre-match hype track because it features a shout-out to her. The 22-year-old also admitted that she jokingly pretends to be vocally gifted while singing The Weeknd’s ‘Call Out My Name’ in the shower.
And the gospel connection roots back to Gauff’s Christian faith, often thanking God and citing prayer as central to her career and personal strength. She has mentioned receiving support from her “church family” and prays immediately after major victories, such as her 2023 US Open win.
The victory sets up a semifinal showdown against 36-year-old veteran Sorana Cirstea, whom she defeated at the Madrid Open despite being unwell and throwing up on court. Meanwhile, Cirstea comes into the match with confidence after defeating Aryna Sabalenka. Their match is scheduled for Thursday at 7 a.m. ET.
