The China Mail - Gauff at ease in Paris as she prepares to defend French Open title

"Last year feels like ten years ago," the American said at media day on Friday.

Gauff comes into the tournament seeded fourth, fresh from reaching the Rome final on clay where she lost to Elina Svitolina.

At 22, she is about to play her seventh French Open.

She won her first Grand Slam at the US Open in 2023, but Roland Garros is where she has shone most consistently. She has reached the last eight in each of her last five appearances in the French capital, including winning the tournament in 2025.

She wants that record to be a source of strength rather than expectation.

"Whenever I come to this tournament, I don't even think about my past results here," she said.

"I know I play well here. Even if I'm not doing my best in the match, I know I can find that level just because of my history here, but it's also something I'm not thinking about, entering the match."

Gauff's result swings have a lot to do with her erratic serve. She leads the WTA with 208 double faults this year. Mirra Andreeva, who has played five more matches, is a distant second with 145.

Gauff said her run to the Italian Open final was down to better serving.

"My average in Rome was four in double faults," she said. "I can do that. For me it's much better than last year."

After breaking through at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old, Gauff has done her growing up in public eye and said the experience has been largely positive.

"Sometimes you get some perks and stuff, like people recognise you," she said.

"The worst is you make mistakes when you grow up, so all your mistakes are shown. But I also think it's not a bad thing, because maybe some other people can see themselves in me and realise we're not all perfect. We've all got to learn."

Gauff said she has worked at learning about herself.

"I have a therapist that I have been going to for a long time," she said, adding that she kept a journal and, most of all, tried not to be negative.

"I can be too much of a perfectionist," she said.

"When I'm playing the matches, I just want to win literally every point in the most perfect way.

"Obviously it just doesn't always happen for me like that all the time," she said. "I can see where I want to be, and I want to be there so bad, but just trying now to focus on the process and the ups and downs of the journey of tennis. It's something that I can hone in on and do well at times, and other times I cannot do so well with it."

She said that she was proud of the mindset she showed in her Rome run.

"I'm winning these matches a lot on just mental fight and stuff," she said, adding: "I do feel like I'm a better player than I was last year."

Gauff opens her title defence in Paris against compatriot Taylor Townsend.

G.Tsang--ThChM