Coco Gauff has suffered a shock defeat at the Qatar Open, losing her very first match against Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Cocciaretto defeated Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in Doha, which followed the American’s doubles first round exit with Victoria Mboko.
Gauff now has a 7-3 record from her 10 matches in 2026 so far, having previously played at the United Cup and the Australian Open.
The WTA number five also suffered a shock defeat at the Grand Slam, with Gauff losing to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals in Melbourne.
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Coco Gauff frustrated that her practice isn’t showing up in matches
Gauff has now shared her frustration following her Qatar Open upset, saying: “I just feel like I haven’t showed up with my best level the last few matches. I’m just looking to find that again.
“I just feel like some of the things I’ve been working on in practice aren’t translating to the match court, which is super frustrating.
“I’ve been having good practices, but just not playing well in the matches. I just need to find how it can translate.
“I tried to be more aggressive and was hitting more unforced errors. When I tried to be a little more passive and play with more shape, she was taking the ball early and crushing the ball.
“I think I need to figure out how to play against players like her, who hit super flat and take everything early.
“I think the last two matches showed I’ve been struggling with that. That’s something I need to work on in practice.”
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Coco Gauff takes big positive from early Qatar Open exit
It isn’t all doom and gloom for Gauff, who has been able to take a positive from her early Qatar Open exit.
She explained: “Today, with only three double faults, that’s positive, and same with the matches I had in Australia.
“I think there weren’t many double faults there, as well. That’s the one positive. Now I need to figure out what I’m doing off the ground to lose these matches.”
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Frustration and disappointment will be the overwhelming emotions for Gauff right now, but her serving improvements will provide her with some form of confidence.
She has constantly struggled in that area of her game in recent times, with Gauff having an issue with double faults in particular.
But she limited that tally to three against Cocciaretto in Doha, as well as hitting two aces against the Italian.
| Aces | 2 |
| Double faults | 3 |
| 1st serve | 66.1% (39/59) |
| 1st serve points won | 66.7% (26/39) |
| 2nd serve points won | 25% (5/20) |
| Break points faced | 12 |
| Break points saved | 66.7% (8/12) |
| Service games played | 9 |
It was far from a perfect service effort, but it’s a step in the right direction for the American, who simply has to keep improving in order to continuously challenge for the biggest titles.
Notably, Gauff isn’t the only big name to have lost early in Qatar, with defending champion Amanda Anisimova retiring with illness in her opener against Karolína Pliskova.
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