Coco Gauff is already looking ahead to potential equipment changes after grinding out a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 victory over Czech opponent Tereza Valentova in her opening match at the Italian Open in Rome. The win, which was far from straightforward, books Gauff's spot in the third round, but it also exposed some lingering issues with her serve.

Despite the straight-sets scoreline, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm from the baseline, especially on serve. She racked up seven double faults in the match, a recurring problem that has plagued her throughout the 2024 season. After the match, the American star didn't mince words about what needs to change.

"I think it was okay," Gauff said in her post-match press conference when asked about her serving performance. "I think I need to lower my tension. I felt like I was having to try so hard to hit big serves. My kick and my second serve was big, but I missed some because she was pressuring my serve."

Gauff was quick to compare her performance in Rome to her recent run in Madrid, where she felt much more comfortable on clay. "I definitely think Madrid is how I would like to serve. I'm just trying to carry that over from Madrid to here, but it's definitely different conditions," she explained.

Speaking with the Tennis Channel after the match, Gauff offered a balanced assessment of her overall game. "I mean, it was pretty good today. I think I was not completely happy in some moments with how I was going out there, but overall, I think I stepped up my game when it mattered, and I'm happy with just being able to close out that second set."

Looking ahead to the rest of the clay-court swing, Gauff is keeping her focus on the bigger prize: Roland Garros. The 20-year-old, who reached the final in Paris last year, admitted she's trying to take some pressure off the lead-up tournaments. "I feel like Roland Garros is a tournament I can usually do well, regardless of how the momentum is going into it, so I think I put less weight on these two tournaments," she told reporters. "But it feels great to enter Roland Garros after making a final, so I would like to maybe do that again. Otherwise, I find my groove this part of the swing, and hopefully in Paris, I can continue to show up for myself."

Gauff also reflected on the valuable lessons she learned from defending her US Open title in 2023. "I learned from last time going into the US Open as defending champion," she said. "So I'm hoping this time I'm a little bit more chill, which I think I do because your body experiences something before it knows how to react and you train your mind."

With a third-round clash against Solana Sierra looming, all eyes will be on Gauff's racket setup and whether those equipment tweaks can help her find the consistency she needs to make another deep run in Rome and beyond.