
French Open: Another favourite falls as reigning champion Gauff slumps out
Coco Gauff's Roland-Garros title defence came to a premature end as she was stunned by Anastasia Potapova in the third round.
Gauff, who overcame Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final to win her second grand slam title, was downed 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The American, who is without a title in 2026, becomes the latest big name to drop out of the French Open, with Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic having crashed out of the men's singles draw.
Potapova's reward for her comeback win is a place in the fourth round at Roland-Garros for the first time.
"I'm cramping a little bit, but it's OK, it's all good. I don't have any words now, I'm extremely happy," said Potapova, who will go up against Anna Kalinskaya in the last 16.
"The fight we could show, both of us – Coco is such a champion, and I respect her so much.
"I'm unbelievably proud of myself that I stayed there, that I was fighting until the last point."
Amanda Anisimova was another big casualty, as the two-time grand slam finalist fell to France's Diane Parry, losing 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-3).
Madison Keys, the 2025 Australian Open winner, battled past Victoria Mboko 6-3 5-7 7-5.
1 - Anastasia Potapova is the first player competing for Austria to defeat the Women’s Singles defending champion at Majors - they were holding a 0-13 record in such meetings. Upset.#RolandGarros | @rolandgarros @WTA
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 30, 2026
Data Debrief: Potapova flies the flag
Potapova is the first woman competing for Austria to defeat the reigning singles champion at a major, with players from her nation having gone 0-13 in such meetings previously.
The 25-year-old has equalled her best effort at a grand slam, having also reached the last 16 at Roland-Garros in 2024, when she fell to a 6-0 6-0 loss to defending champion Iga Swiatek.
In fact, that was her only previous grand slam meeting against a defending champion.
Anisimova, meanwhile, suffered her first third-round defeat at a grand slam since 2020, when she lost to Simona Halep at Roland-Garros.











