Coco Gauff has expressed her disappointment after a video of her smashing her racket at the Australian Open was caught on camera.
The American fell well below her usual high level during her 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Elina Svitolina on Tuesday. Gauff struggled with her forehand and serve all match – she double-faulted five times in the first set alone – and hit 26 unforced errors against just three winners, losing in just 59 minutes. She also appeared to believe there was something wrong with her equipment as she struggled with her control, having three of her rackets restrung in the opening set.
After the match, the 21-year-old thought she had found some privacy to vent her frustration on a ramp away from Rod Laver Arena. She hit the concrete floor with her racket, but the incident was caught by a camera video of the incident it soon flooded social media.
“I tried to go somewhere where there were no cameras,” Gauff told reporters. “I have a little bit of a thing about the broadcast. I feel like the same thing happened to Aryna at certain points [Sabalenka] after I played her in the US Open final – I feel like they don’t need to broadcast.”
World No. 1 Sabalenka smashed her racket in a training area after her loss to Gauff at the 2023 US Open. Footage of that incident also went viral after it was caught on camera.
“I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. Maybe some conversations can be had because I feel like the only private place we have during this tournament is the locker room,” Gauff added.
The 21-year-old said she would rather take out her frustration on her equipment than on her team.
“I think I know myself, and I don’t want to lash out at my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve that, and I know I’m emotional,” Gauff said. “I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Like I said, I try not to do it on the field in front of kids and stuff like that, but I do know I have to express that emotion.”
“Otherwise I’m just going to be tough with the people around me, and I don’t want to do that because like I said, they don’t deserve it. They did their best. I did mine. I just have to let the frustration out.”
Gauff, the third seed at this year’s Australian Open, was hoping to reach the final in Melbourne for the first time, having won her two previous matches against Svitolina. She is the reigning French Open champion but suffered a shock first-round defeat at Wimbledon last year and was eliminated in the fourth round of the US Open.
Svitolina was in a more positive mood after reaching her first Australian Open semi-final, where she will face Sabalenka. The win also guarantees her return to the world’s top 10 for the first time since the birth of her daughter Skai.
“After my maternity leave, my dream was to get back into the top 10,” she says. “Always been my goal. Unfortunately it didn’t happen last year, I stopped after September [due to injury] and when we were training in the offseason, I told my coach, ‘I want to get back into the top 10 this year,’ so this was my goal this year.
Although Gauff and her compatriot Iva Jović lost their quarter-finals, the US is assured of a semi-finalist this year. Two Americans, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula, will face each other in the quarterfinals on Wednesday morning in Melbourne. Jović was easily beaten 6-3, 6-0 by Sabalenka, who has reached the semi-finals in 12 of her last 13 grand slam appearances and will provide a formidable test for Svitolina.
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