Coco Gauff’s ‘magical’ quality highlighted as she chases Serena Williams record
Jim Courier has highlighted the “magical” quality Coco Gauff has before her Italian Open final against Elina Svitolina.
Gauff is aiming to win this trophy for the first time and claim her fourth WTA 1000 crown, while Svitolina is bidding to claim a hat-trick of Italian Open titles.
The American’s battling qualities have been on full display in Rome this week, with third seed Gauff coming from behind in three out of her five matches.
Seventh seed Svitolina has also had to grit it out, with the 31-year-old claiming big-name scalps such as Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek on her run to the final.
The Ukrainian has beaten the French Open champion twice this year, both of which were on hard courts. But Courier believes that the fact this is on clay bodes well for Gauff – who can become just the second American to win a 1000 title on clay after Serena Williams.
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When asked about the importance of Svitolina’s two wins over Gauff in 2026, Courier said on Tennis Channel, “I think they are pretty important for Svitolina. She’s going to take a lot of confidence from those two wins.
“If you’re on Coco’s team, you’ve got to stress this is a clay court surface, a slower surface which gives you more time to handle the ball coming into the forehand.
“That is the shot that she’s going to have to be mindful of. I love that Coco is talking about how comfortable she is feeling with her second serve and that’s freeing her up to go after her first serve a little bit more, so she can do more damage with that.
“Svitolina has been doing damage with her serve, which is a little bit surprising for me, I didn’t know that she had that much in it.”
Tracey Austin outlined how Svitolina has always been very consistent, gritty and a natural counter-puncher. But this week in Rome, she has “beefed up” her serve and is going bigger on the forehand side.
Incidentally, in 2026 alone, no player has chalked up more comeback wins than Gauff and she has more three set wins than anyone else this year.
While Courier stressed that her chances of winning may hinge on how good her forehand is going to be, Gauff’s fighting spirit is what sets her apart from the rest.
He said, “There is only one shot she [Gauff] has got to worry about and that’s the forehand side, that’s got to feel good.”
“Coco Gauff doesn’t necessarily make tennis look easy, what she has is magic and what I hope all kids desire to have is grit. No one has more grit in tennis right now than Coco Gauff.
“And I love that that is a role model for people out there watching; little boys and girls, Coco Gauff has to deal with adversity all the time and she doesn’t get too frustrated, she just keeps going.
“She’s not perfect but she is someone you can aspire to be like because she never gives in – it’s magical that quality.”
Svitolina leads the head to head 3-2 but this is their first meeting on clay.
