Tennis
2026-05-26 - Coco Gauff vs Taylor Townsend
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : French Open First Round
Tuesday 26th May 2026 - Scheduled 4:30pm
3:30pm (British Time)
Preview
There will be plenty of familiarity when these two American players meet in the First Round of the French Open, but it is no surprise that the defending Champion is set as a significant favourite.
She was beaten in the Rome Final, but Coco Gauff had that happen to her twelve months ago before picking up the French Open title weeks later.
The World Number 4 will likely be the first to admit that she has not quite reached the heights of 2025 as far as the clay court form goes, but Coco Gauff is still playing at a high level. That should be good enough to negotiate the early Rounds from her Seeding, although the expectation is that real improvement will be needed in the second week of this Grand Slam if Coco Gauff is going to defend the title won here last year.
Most will expect Coco Gauff to get off to a positive start on Tuesday on Day 3 of the French Open when she takes on Taylor Townsend, who is much more known for her work on the Doubles side of the Tour.
There has been very little consistent success as a Singles player on the clay courts over the last couple of years and even in the build up to the French Open, Taylor Townsend has struggled when facing the better players on the Tour. She has a 4-2 record on the clay courts, but that becomes 1-2 when only focusing on matches against players Ranked inside the top 100 and the numbers on the serve and return have been heavily impacted when facing those players.
Credit has to be given to the World Number 75 for earning her spot in the main draw without having to go through the Qualifiers, as Townsend did last year, but she was well beaten in the First Round and this looks a very tough match up on paper.
In their sole meeting back in 2019, Taylor Townsend got the better of Coco Gauff, but she was 200 places above her in the World Rankings and things have changed for both since those days.
Familiarity with what to expect should help the lower Ranked American, but it feels like a First Round match that the favourite will eventually showcase the difference in quality and be able to pull away for a good, solid win.
Prediction
Lay the games with the defending Champion at the French Open.
The Pick :
Coco Gauff 2-0 Taylor Townsend
