Coco Gauff has changed her doubles partner for the 2025 Italian Open. The American is set to take the court with the Philippines’ rising star, Alexandra Eala, at the WTA 1000 event.
In 2024, Gauff partnered with Erin Routliffe and missed out on clinching the title after losing to the Italian duo of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the final. The year before that, in 2023, Gauff was again the runner-up, as she and fellow American Jessica Pegula fell to Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens in the championship match.
Her first doubles partner in 2025, meanwhile, was compatriot Robin Montgomery. The American pair teamed up at the Madrid Open, losing in the quarterfinals.
Coco Gauff To Play Doubles at Italian Open 2025 With Alexandra Eala
This year, Gauff and Eala received a wild card entry into the main draw of the women’s doubles event at the Italian Open. Their first-round opponents will be the pair of Alexandra Panova and Fanny Stollár.
Last year, Gauff and Routliffe were seeded third. They started their campaign with a 4-6, 6-4, [10-4] win over Yuan Yue and Wang Xiyu in the first round, followed it up with a 4-6, 6-4, [10-8] victory against Mirra Andreeva and Vera Zvonareva to secure their place in the quarterfinals.
Here, they registered a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over the fifth-seeded pair of Kateřina Siniaková and Taylor Townsend and defeated Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai 6-3, 7-6(3) in the semifinals. They fell short, 3-6, 6-4, [8-10], in the final against Errani and Paolini.
Coco Gauff Yet To Play Her First Match in Singles at Italian Open 2025
Gauff is seeded fourth in the singles event at the 2025 Italian Open, and she is set to kick off her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. Last year, she made it to the semifinals of the tournament but was defeated 4-6, 3-6 by eventual champion Iga Świątek.
This year, in her opening match, Coco Gauff will face Victoria Mboko, who earned her spot in the main draw after navigating through the qualifying rounds. Mboko secured her place by defeating Cristina Bucșa 6-3, 6-2 in the first qualifying round and then pulling off a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Kamilla Rakhimova in the second qualifying round.
In the first round of the main draw, Mboko emerged victorious against wild card Arianna Zucchini with a score of 6-2, 6-3.
Coco Gauff and Mboko have never faced each other on the WTA Tour. The winner of their match in Rome will advance to face either Maria Sakkari or 32nd seed Magda Linette in the third round.