Coco Gauff survives Mboko challenge to advance in Rome
Coco Gauff qualified for the third round in Rome, against the rising teenager of women’s tennis, Victoria Mboko (3-6, 6-2, 6-1).
Coco Gauff, 2025 | © Zuma / Psnewz
Coco Gauff did not fall into the trap set by Canadian Victoria Mboko, the sensation of the year on the women’s circuit.
But right up to the end of her 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 second-round victory at the Italian Open in Rome on Friday, she maintained an intense focus. The American knows all too well what an 18-year-old brimming with potential can produce on a big court and the level of stress it can inflict on the higher-ranked player.
Fourth seed Gauff struggled in the first set. “I wasn’t playing very well, and on the contrary, she was playing great tennis,” she said. “I’m glad I managed to reset”.
The American will play Pole Magda Linette, the No 32 seed, next.
Gauff is only the fourth player to defeat Mboko at the professional level this year. The Canadian has won 33 matches overall. But still, maintaining that level for more than an hour is still a skill to be mastered by the young player, whose parents emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999.
Mboko EXTENDS any rally
After pushing Paula Badosa to a third-set tiebreak in Miami, where she also defeated her first top 100 player in Camila Osorio, Mboko no longer feels intimidated by top opponents and didn’t hesitate to challenge Gauff.
What stands out most in her game is how she extends any rally. Mboko rarely makes errors, even at high intensity. She never overhits the ball, just enough to stay composed, seize the first opening, and, if necessary, disrupt the rhythm with sliced forehands.
To make her mark on the WTA, she needs to improve her serve, particularly her first serve. But after this experience, Mboko is projected to be at least 137th in the WTA rankings, a leap of 19 spots.
In the previous round of the Rome tournament, she won against Italian wildcard Arianna Zucchini (6-2, 6-3).
Roma WTA 1000, other second-round results (Foro Italico, clay, EUR 6.009.593, most recent results first):
- Bianca Andreescu vs. Donna Vekic: friday
- Elena Rybakina (11) beat Eva Lys: 7-6 (3), 6-2
- Leylah Fernandez (24) beat Antonia Ruzic (Q): 6-4, 6-0
- Emma Navarro (10) beat Kamilla Rakhimova (LL): 6-1, 6-3
- Marta Kostyuk beat Daria Kasatkina (14): 6-4, 6-2
- Emma Raducanu beat Jil Teichmann (LL): 6-2, 6-2
- Mirra Andreeva (7) beat Emiliana Arango (Q): 6-2, 6-4
- Veronika Kudermetova beat Amanda Anisimova (15): 7-6 (5), 7-5
- Linda Noskova (30) beat Sonay Kartal: 6-4, 6-2
- Qinwen Zheng (8) beat Olga Danilovic: 6-1, 6-4
- Magdalena Frech (26) beat Victoria Azarenka: 7-5, 6-4
- Clara Tauson (22) beat Katie Volynets (Q): 7-5, 4-1 ret.
- Magda Linette beat Maria Sakkari (Q): 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Sofia Kenin (31) beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: 6-3, 6-0
- Aryna Sabalenka (1) beat Anastasia Potapova: 6-2, 6-2
- Laura Siegemund (LL) beat Lucia Bronzetti: 6-2, 6-2
- Marie Bouzkova beat Beatriz Haddad Maia (18): 6-0, 6-3
- Madison Keys (5) beat Varvara Gracheva: 7-6 (4), 6-1
- Elina Svitolina (16) beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro: 6-4, 7-6 (2)
- Jessica Pegula (3) beat Ashlyn Krueger: 6-4, 6-2
- Hailey Baptiste (Q) beat Liudmila Samsonova (19): 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
- Danielle Collins (29) beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse (Q): 6-3, 6-3
- Jasmine Paolini (6) beat Lulu Sun: 6-4, 6-3
- Iga Swiatek (2) beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto (WC): 6-1, 6-0
- Peyton Stearns beat Anna Kalinskaya (28): 6-2, 6-3
- Elise Mertens (25) beat Suzan Lamens: 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
- Jelena Ostapenko (17) beat Rebecca Sramkova: 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
- Diana Shnaider (13) beat Caroline Dolehide: 6-0, 6-0
- Naomi Osaka beat Viktorija Golubic (LL): 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
- Jaqueline Cristian beat Yulia Putintseva (23): 7-6 (2), 7-5
- Petra Kvitova vs. Ons Jabeur
