The 2026 Australian Open had been a fairly quiet tournament prior to Tuesday’s quarterfinal between Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina.
After Gauff suffered a heavy straight-sets defeat to Svitolina, the American star smashed her racket behind the scenes.
The outburst was picked up by an Australian Open camera and uploaded to social media, with the ultimately viral clip resulting in outcry among ATP and WTA stars, who were concerned about player privacy.
Do players need to be given more privacy at the Australian Open?
Novak Djokovic was one of many to voice their frustrations about the situation, claiming that tennis is ‘going backwards’.
Now, former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has shared his opinion on the matter and suggested a change that is needed in the sport.
Greg Rusedski discusses Coco Gauff’s filmed outburst
In an episode of ‘Off Court with Greg‘, Rusedski said of Gauff: “She is allowed to [have] a little bit of privacy, and in her press conference, she talked about, look, I didn’t want to get angry and break my racket in front of my team, so I walked out.
“I went somewhere where I thought it was private to break my racket and get my frustration out. Sometimes you need that space to get it out, and I think this is where you have to have a little bit of privacy for the players.
“We don’t have to see that. She is an incredible sportswoman, a great ambassador for the game. We all have emotions. We all have anger. We all have frustrations. That should have been a private moment.
Are you worried about Coco Gauff in 2026?
“It was interesting because players have also talked about having a private space where there’s no camera, because you know, sometimes in the locker room, which is private, I’ve seen players break rackets, every racket in their bag.
“But they don’t want to do that in front of the other players and give them sort of a benefit. So there almost has to be a space where you can just let it out.”
Coco Gauff’s last three results at the Australian Open
Gauff has made deep runs at the Australian Open over the past three years, after failing to make it past round four from 2020 to 2023.
In 2024, Gauff advanced to the semifinals of the competition, dropping just one set en route.
She ultimately exited the Australian Open that year after suffering a defeat to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final four.
The following year, Gauff made it to the quarterfinals, defeating the likes of Sofia Kenin, Leylah Fernandez and Belinda Bencic before being denied a place in the semifinals by Paula Badosa.
Gauff showed promising signs early on her 2026 campaign, but as the tournament progressed, her level seemed to keep dipping, with the 21-year-old bowing out in the quarterfinals for a second consecutive year.
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