Coco Gauff has exited the Australian Open after suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Elina Svitolina.
Gauff had impressed at the Australian Open coming into her quarterfinal match, having beaten the likes of Karolina Muchova, Hailey Baptiste and Olga Danilovic.
However, there are always some questions over Gauff’s serve, which was raised once again after she won less than 35% of her service points against Svitolina.
After being beaten by Svitolina in just 59 minutes, Gauff was seen breaking her racket behind the scenes at the Australian Open, and she has now explained why she did not do it on court.
Coco Gauff calls for more privacy after cameras caught her smashing racket
Gauff was beaten, 6-1 6-2, by Svitolina before she smashed her racket in frustration in a quiet area behind Rod Laver Arena.
Although she specifically chose to find this area of the arena to express her frustration, cameras still caught Gauff doing this.
When asked about this in her post-match press conference, Gauff explained that she deliberately did not smash her racket on court as she did not want to set a bad example for younger people watching her.
However, Gauff called for a conversation to be had in terms of giving players more privacy in these difficult moments, pointing to a similar situation that happened to Aryna Sabalenka after she beat her in the 2023 US Open final.
“Yeah, I tried to go somewhere where there was no cameras,” began Gauff.
She added after being asked a follow-up question, “Yeah, I kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments — the same thing happened to Aryna after I played her in final of US Open. I feel like they don’t need to broadcast.
“I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera, because I don’t necessarily like breaking racquets, but I lost 1 and 2. I broke one racket on quarters, I think, or round of 16 of French Open, I think, and I said I would never do it again on court, because I don’t feel like that’s a good representation.
“But yeah, I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. So, yeah, maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.”
Are you worried about Coco Gauff in 2026?
Gauff then explained that she felt it was necessary to break her racket so that she did not take out her frustrations on her team.
“Yeah, definitely. I think for me, I know myself, and I don’t want to lash out on my team,” explained Gauff. “They’re good people. They don’t deserve that, and I know I’m emotional.
“So, yeah, I just took the minute to go and do that. Yeah, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Like I said, I don’t try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion. Otherwise, I’m just going to be snappy 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. Just need to let the frustration out.”
Coco Gauff says if she made a ‘miscalculation’ with her racket tension
While she did not want to take her frustrations out on her team in terms of the defeat, Gauff did appear to be unhappy with her racket during the first set of the match and actually asked her coaches to get her a new racket with lower tension.
Gauff was asked if this was a miscalculation on her part, but she claimed that was not the case and that it did not have any say in why she lost to Svitolina.
“Yeah, I mean, it wasn’t a miscalculation,” replied Gauff. “I was playing with the tension that I normally use, and obviously today was a bit weird trying to figure out how I wanted to be strung, because I found out the roof would be closed a little bit later.
“I mean, I figured it would be closed, but you just don’t know. I hadn’t played with the roof closed, so I didn’t know. I felt like the ball was slower.
“Obviously I’ve been playing mainly day and with the roof open and hot conditions, so I felt I needed to go lower. But it wasn’t a miscalculation. I don’t think that’s the reason why I lost today. I’m not picky with the rackets.
“It was just something that, okay, I’m not feeling great. What can I change that’s in my control, and the tension is one of those things that I just thought that maybe I could change it and it would help. But, yeah, I don’t think that was a reason as to why I was playing like today.”
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
After losing in the Australian Open quarterfinals for a second successive year, Gauff is confirmed to lose her status as the American number one to either Amanda Anisimova or Jessica Pegula, who are playing each other in the last-eight in Melbourne.
Gauff will now have a few weeks away from the match court, before she is scheduled to return at WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
