After her runner-up finish at the Italian Open, Coco Gauff has made her return to the French Open for her highly anticipated title defense at the clay-court Major. The American quickly grabbed attention with her awkward entrance and later explained the reason for the unusual scene.
Why Coco Gauff Blamed Her ‘Awkward Energy’ at the French Open on Being Recorded
After bidding farewell to Rome with a delicious farewell feast, Gauff arrived at the French Open as the defending champion. She clinched her maiden Roland Garros title last year after claiming a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 comeback win over Aryna Sabalenka in the blockbuster final.
The 22-year-old was accompanied by her mother, Candi, who has been cheering her on throughout the European clay-court swing, with the tournament sharing a clip of their arrival.
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With fans in the comments questioning her seemingly unhappy demeanor in the clip, Gauff issued a clarification, blaming the “awkward energy” on her being camera-shy.
“guys i’m just awkward when people record me 😭 idk if I should smile or act normal so therefore you get this awkward energy lol😂,” she commented.
After making her presence felt at Roland Garros, the 22-year-old ventured out into the streets of Paris and humorously called out her mother for making her pose alongside her own posters.
“Traveling with your mom is her forcing you to take pictures with every sign of yourself in the city. and she made me point too,” she posted on her Instagram story.
MORE: Coco Gauff’s Parents, Eva Lys Comfort the American After She Admits Italian Open Final Loss ‘Stings’
Gauff is also preparing to turn heads at Roland Garros, showing off her chic new microbraids after spending eight hours in the salon chair.
During her recent campaign at the Italian Open, the world No. 4 opened up about the mindset she intends to carry into her title defense at the French Open, emphasizing that she refuses to put any unnecessary pressure on herself.
“Now when I go into Roland Garros, I’m not even thinking about ranking or anything. I want to make sure I mentally approach that tournament in the correct way. If I lose first round, I mentally give it my all, it’s okay, I learned from it. I definitely don’t want to be thinking about what if, what if I lose or what if I this. I just want to take it one match at a time,” she said.
Coco Gauff heads into the French Open as the No. 4 seed, behind Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Iga Świątek. She will learn her route to a potential second consecutive title in Paris when the draw is revealed on Thursday, May 21.
