Coco Gauff’s title defense at the 2026 French Open came to a surprising end in the third round. The defending champion and No. 4 seed was upset by Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, the No. 28 seed, in a hard-fought three-set match on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Potapova prevailed 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-4 after more than two hours of intense play.
Gauff, who captured her first Roland Garros crown in 2025 by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final, began strongly and took the opening set. However, Potapova fought back resiliently, forcing a tiebreak in the second set that she controlled convincingly before maintaining her momentum to close out the victory in the decisive third set.
This result marks one of Gauff’s earlier exits at the French Open in recent years and extends a streak of tough Grand Slam outings since her Paris triumph last year.
Potapova, who has now beaten Gauff in their last three encounters, called the win one of the biggest of her career. The loss will cause Gauff to drop out of the top five in the WTA rankings for the first time since late 2024.
With her exit, attention at Roland Garros shifts to the remaining contenders in a tournament that has already delivered several notable upsets.
