"Coco Gauff has fallen into irrelevancy" - Fans raise concerns after American's 'frustrating' loss to Jasmine Paolini in Stuttgart QF
Coco Gauff's run at the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart has ended in a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals. Fans have raised concerns about her wavering form during the 2025 season, given that the American has been far from her best since kicking off the year by leading Team USA to the United Cup title.
Fighting for a place in the semifinals of the WTA 500 event, Gauff squared off against Jasmine Paolini. Although the American held a 2-0 lead in their head-to-head record before the contest, Paolini delivered a stellar performance to claim a 6-4, 6-3 victory and record her first victory over the World No. 4.
Coco Gauff's loss drew dismayed reactions from tennis fans, as many of them sounded the alarm over the 20-year-old's apparent lack of confidence and the "breakdown" of her fundamental shots. Meanwhile, another asserted that the American was fading into "irrelevancy" in the landscape of women's tennis.
"Coco Gauff has kind of fallen into irrelevancy in the big picture of womens tennis," one fan commented.
"Being a Coco fan is really exhausting and frustrating. Something needs to change fast," a fan wrote.
"Didn’t exactly go into this match with high expectations, but Coco looked very solid at 4-2 30-0 then totally collapsed. Her confidence seems to evaporate so quickly lately, and it was concerning to see her backhand break down," one fan posted.
"Oh Lord. Haven't seen Coco play recently but can she have one week where a fundamental shot doesn't completely break down? As you said her backhand breaking down is very concerning considering that is the one stroke that never let's her down," another fan chimed in.
With Iga Swiatek also losing in the quarterfinals in Stuttgart, one fan remarked that Gauff and the Pole could commiserate with one another.
"Iga and Coco should go have a few drinks at the bar and go bummer to bummer with each other," another fan shared.
"Coco Gauff will be outside the top 6. Ever since she announced that she has a boyfriend who plays a guitar, her game is off notes," a fan remarked.
"Coco can peak for 2-3 tournaments each year and she is a pedestrian top 15 the rest of the season. She has a lot of points to defend in Rome and RG so she needs to get it together asap, almost as much as Iga does," said yet another.
Following her exit at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Coco Gauff will hope to bounce back strongly at the Madrid Open. The WTA 1000 event is set to begin on April 21.
Jasmine Paolini to lock horns with Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart SF after win over Coco Gauff
Following her win over Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini will square off against Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The Italian will face a tough test against the World No. 1, who has won four of their six tour-level meetings.
Reflecting on her 6-2, 6-2 loss to Sabalenka in the recent Miami Open semifinals, Paolini disclosed her intention to make the Belarusian drop her level by troubling her game during the contest.
"Hopefully tomorrow it's going to be another story, another match. Hopefully I can, you know, play better, make her, you know, play a little bit worse somehow, trying to add problems to her," Paolini said in her post-match press conference.
If Jasmine Paolini manages to beat Aryna Sabalenka, she will take on the winner of the match between Jelena Ostapenko and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Stuttgart final.