Coco Gauff's trip to the Madrid Open didn't go quite as planned, leaving the young American star with more questions than answers as the clay season heats up. After a hard-fought three-set loss to Linda Noskova (4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7-5)), Gauff slipped one spot in the WTA rankings to No. 4, swapping places with Iga Swiatek. But according to tennis legend Rennae Stubbs, the real concerns go beyond the numbers.

Speaking on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the former doubles world No. 1 didn't hold back. "Noskova beating Coco was impressive, because Coco should have won that match," Stubbs said. "She was up 4-1 in the third set and on a roll. She won the second set 6-1, was up 4-1—basically winning every game for a while there."

But then came the turning point. "At 4-1 on her serve, she dropped the ball a little bit, making really poor decisions on shot selection and getting upset with herself," Stubbs explained. "She's showing her opponents negativity on the court, and you can't do that against a Noskova. Noskova is going to hit the ball through you, and that's the worst opponent for Coco."

Stubbs pointed to a pattern of emotional swings and tactical missteps. "Even in the third-set tiebreak, Coco was up and should have put the match away. Just poor decision-making. Coaches have an opportunity to tell their player something tactical to get them away from the emotional side. Instead, I heard a lot of 'Come on, you've got this.' No! Just tell her to play forehand."

Despite the setback, Gauff is determined to find positives. Before returning to Roland Garros—where she won her second Grand Slam title last year—the American will look to build momentum in Rome. As the No. 3 seed, she gets a bye into the second round, where she'll face either Yulia Putintseva or Tereza Valentova. If she advances, the real test begins—and all eyes will be on how she handles the pressure.