Coco Gauff’s French Open round 4 opponent: Who is Elisabetta Cocciaretto?
So far, so good for Coco Gauff at the French Open.
The 2022 Roland Garros runner-up and world No 3 has been flying under the radar in Paris but is safely through to the second week without dropping a set.
And on paper, she is the favourite to reach the last eight, with unseeded Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto standing in between her and a quarter-final spot.
However, Cocciaretto will be no easy task with the Italian impressing on the clay this week.
We look at the Italian’s career so far – ahead of the biggest match of her life.
Career beginnings
Aged 18, Cocciaretto made her WTA Tour debut in 2019 after receiving a Wildcard into the Italian Open, losing to Amanda Anisimova in straight sets.
And less than a year later she made her maiden appearance in a Grand Slam main draw, coming through qualifying at the Australian Open before tasting defeat to former champion Angelique Kerber.
The Italian was one of countless players whose momentum was stalled by COVID in 2020 – and then suffered another significant setback in 2021.
Cocciaretto started the year brightly, again qualifying for the Australian Open and making her Roland Garros debut as a lucky loser, also reaching her maiden tour semi-final in Mexico.
But she did not play after July, missing the rest of the season after a knee operation.
Read More: Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will want to avoid Coco Gauff in French Open draw, says former world No 2
2022 and 2023 surge
Despite starting 2022 ranked 156th in the world, 2022 was the start of a significant rise for the 23-year-old.
She reached the second WTA 125 final of her career in Makarska and, after losing in Australian and French Open qualifying, reached the Wimbledon main draw – beating compatriot and 22nd seed Martina Trevisan for her first Slam win.
Later that summer, she reached the top 100 for the first time and then made her US Open debut after coming through qualifying.
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She ended the year ranked 65th and immediately jumped into the top 50 in January 2023, after reaching the first WTA final of her career in Hobart.
Cocciaretto later reached back-to-back third rounds at the French Open and Wimbledon 12 months ago, and then won the first WTA title of her career on clay in Lausanne, beating Clara Burel in the final.
She reached a career-high ranking of 29th in August but a slow end to the season – and an up-and-down 2024 to date – means she is currently just outside the top 50.
However, she has moved up to 43rd in the live rankings.
Big Roland Garros run
Twelve months ago the Italian reached the third round at Roland Garros, beating world No 10 Petra Kvitova in her opening match.
And a year on after reaching round three of a major for the first time, Cocciaretto has now gone one better to achieve the best Slam run of her career to date.
Much like 2023, the world No 51 started with a big win in her opening match, battling past 13th seed and 2023 semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia in three sets to reach round two.
Cocciaretto then dropped just five games to dispatch Cristina Bucsa, before knocking out a second seeded opponent in the form of 17th seed Liudmila Samsonova to reach round four.
The Italian will now hope to achieve the second top-10 win of her career against Gauff.
World No 3 Gauff has won both their previous matches in straight sets, including a victory in Dubai this season.