Coco Gauff is starting her clay season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, an indoor WTA 500 event, where she has never been beyond the quarter-finals. In recent years, Gauff has been ranked high enough to receive a bye through the first round. But she has never won two matches on the trot in Stuttgart, and will be hoping to change that in 2026.

Most American players typically choose to enter the Charleston Open, a WTA 500 tournament staged on green clay the week after the Miami Open, and then skip Stuttgart before jetting to Europe for the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and Roland Garros. But Gauff has remained loyal to the indoor clay-court event, even though she admitted she didn't "do well" in Stuttgart.

The world No. 3 is the reigning French Open champion and does well on the clay. And her priority is to peak at Roland Garros, so she doesn't want to change her schedule too much, even if she has been tempted to compete in the States.

"I mean, the main thing is, I mean, I've always done well at Roland Garros. Last couple years have been quarters or better. Last few years, semis or better. Anytime, that's the goal, is to peak at that tournament. That's the main motivation keeping that schedule, because it has worked well for me," she explained.

Gauff, who is the second seed at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this week, is also hopeful her luck can change here. She continued: "Although I don't typically do well in Stuttgart, it's not a tournament I necessarily thrive at. Hopefully, this year can change.

"Miami was a tournament I didn't thrive at, and I did well. I would love to do better here. The main thing I care about is Roland Garros and how I do there. That's the main reason for the motivation of that.

"There's definitely years, there are times I think about maybe playing [Charleston] and not playing here. I don't think there's a scenario where I would do both because it's a lot of tennis. This tournament treats me well. I like coming here. Even though I don't do well here, I still have a good time here. I think that's all that matters."

One reason Gauff may not have done well in Stuttgart is because the tournament is held indoors, and doesn't reflect the clay surfaces used at other tournaments in this stretch. She explained: "I think the clay is unique here.

"It's a little bit slippery, so it's hard to adjust to. Obviously, the indoor component is something I'm not used to seeing till the end of the year. It's different for sure. It's definitely the least comfortable tournament I feel on court, on the clay, during the clay season. But I think it's great to start a tournament where it feels a little bit more challenging. It makes the rest of the season feel a little bit easier."

Gauff received a bye directly into the round of 16 once again and will face world No. 21 Liudmila Samsonova in her opening match. Should she progress to the quarter-finals, the two-time Grand Slam champion could meet seventh seed Karolina Muchova, whom she has never lost to.

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