Coco Gauff Gets Into Car Accident Before Opening Match at Roland-Garros

The tennis world is lucky to have Coco Gauff.

The WTA’s fourth-ranked player is a highlight reel on the court, but she’s one of the faces of the sport for her unrivaled personality off it. Case in point: Gauff’s charming demeanor while recounting an unfortunate series of events before her opening match at Roland-Garros on Tuesday.

“We kind of got into, like, a mini car accident on my way to the site today,” Gauff said with a giggle on TNT. “There was this pole, and it was supposed to go down, and then the police told [the driver] to go, and the pole was still there, so we ran into it. It was kind of, you know, you felt a little impact. I spilled my juice all over the car.”

Gauff continued, “I was like, ‘We can keep going,’ then I walk out the car, and the car was not drivable.”

Nobody was hurt in the collision.

Gauff needed a taxi and a tournament car to make it to Roland-Garros, but she’s choosing to look at it as “a good omen, maybe - everything happening in my first round.”

Once she arrived at Court Philippe-Chatrier, Gauff dispatched fellow American Taylor Townsend in two sets (6-4, 6-0), a more characteristic start to her French Open title defense.

Much has been said about an intense Parisian heat wave impacting the crowds and play at Roland-Garros, but Gauff downplayed it on the court after her first-round win: “I mean, honestly, I’m from Florida, so this is nothing. Shout out Delray Beach.”

Separately, Gauff joked, “It’s hot outside, but I’m hotter.”

Last year, Gauff lost to Jasmine Paolini in the Italian Open final before defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win her first French Open title a few weeks later. One-half of that script has repeated this year, as Gauff lost to Elina Svitolina in the Italian Open final 10 days ago.

Gauff will next hit the clay against Mayar Sherif on Thursday. Gauff previously defeated Sherif in Cincinnati in August 2023.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 1:55 PM.