Coco Gauff will be hoping to avoid making the same mistake again after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Gauff beat 19th seed Karolina Muchova to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third successive year.
This also signals the 10th Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career, with Gauff still only just 21 years old.
When reflecting on her achievement, Gauff admitted the mistake she made after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal nearly five years ago.
Coco Gauff explains what she did after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal
Gauff reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2021 French Open, when she was just 17 years old.
However, when asked about some of the difficult obstacles she has faced in her career, Gauff admitted that she looked way too far ahead, which ultimately cost her.
“I think always in the past for me was maybe not looking too far ahead,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference after beating Muchova. “I remember when I made my first quarterfinal, such an idiot, I think it was French Open, and I was, like, oh, my God, I’m so close to winning.
“Obviously it wasn’t. Plenty of people make the quarterfinals in their career and didn’t win. That’s just how I thought at that age.
“Honestly now I just treat every match like I’m the furthest away from the trophy, even if I am in the final. I find in the final I treat it now as if I’m the furthest possible away, like I’m not even close. For me, in my head that just helps me play better. I don’t know if that will work for everybody else.”
Prove us wrong…
What has happened when Coco Gauff reached her nine previous Grand Slam quarterfinals?
Gauff has reached nine previous Grand Slam quarterfinals in her career, to which she has found varying degrees of success.
The aforementioned quarterfinal she reached at the French Open in 2021, resulting in her losing in straight sets to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
However, she has also won five of her nine major quarterfinals, including en route to Gauff winning the French Open and US Open titles.
There have also been varying degrees of success for her in Melbourne, with Gauff losing to Paula Badosa in the Australian Open quarterfinals last year, but she did make it to the semifinals in 2024.
| Grand Slam where Coco Gauff reached the quarterfinals | Coco Gauff’s end result |
| French Open 2021 | Lost in the quarterfinal to Barbora Krejcikova |
| French Open 2022 | Lost in the final to Iga Swiatek |
| US Open 2022 | Lost in the quarterfinal to Caroline Garcia |
| French Open 2023 | Lost in the quarterfinal to Iga Swiatek |
| US Open 2023 | Won the title |
| Australian Open 2024 | Lost in the semifinal to Aryna Sabalenka |
| French Open 2024 | Lost in the semifinal to Iga Swiatek |
| Australian Open 2025 | Lost in the quarterfinal to Paula Badosa |
| French Open 2025 | Won the title |
Gauff will be hoping that she can recreate her Australian Open experience from 2024 when she takes on Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
This will be a fourth meeting between the two players, with Gauff leading the head-to-head against Svitolina 2-1.
However, the one previous match they played at the Australian Open saw Svitolina beat Gauff in 2021.
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