Coco Gauff came up short in her bid for a maiden Australian Open title in 2026.
The American took down Kamilla Rakhimova, Olga Danilovic, Hailey Baptiste, and Karolina Muchova to set up a quarterfinal tie with Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
Unfortunately for Gauff, she lost to Svitolina, 1-6, 2-6, winning just three games in a humbling quarterfinal defeat.
After the match, Gauff was caught smashing her racket backstage.
Do players need to be given more privacy at the Australian Open?
The moment caused quite the stir, with Gauff herself questioning the lack of privacy players are given at the Australian Open.
Her fellow American, Taylor Fritz, has now weighed in on the tournament’s treatment of the world number three.
Taylor Fritz thinks the Australian Open was wrong to broadcast Coco Gauff’s racket smash
Answering fan questions on Twitch, Fritz shared his thoughts on Gauff’s racket-smash incident.
“Here’s what I’ll say on that,” he said.
“So, there are cameras in places we know about, and yes, it’s a bit of an invasion of privacy, but I get why they want to see us, because you get a lot of cool moments.
“The cameras that are in the gym, we’re not really paying attention to the fact that we’re being filmed. I know there is a camera in the gym, but I also know that it’s filming all the time, so if they put the camera on me, I’m not thinking [about it], but I know not to do anything I wouldn’t want people to see when I’m in the gym.
“There are cameras everywhere, and I think that’s fine, because that backstage stuff, people want to see it.
“But I think, when there are obvious moments when players think they are not being filmed and they show it, I don’t think they should do that.”
Gauff didn’t know she was being filmed when she broke her racket, and Fritz now reveals that he, too, didn’t know that area had cameras.
“That area where they showed Coco [Gauff] breaking her racket, I know exactly where that is,” he said.
“I had no clue there was a camera there, no idea.
“Obviously, she went there specifically because she didn’t think there was a camera there either.
“So I think in situations like that, they probably shouldn’t show it.”
Many likened the incident to one involving Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open in 2023.
After losing the final to Gauff, Sabalenka was similarly caught breaking her racket backstage.
However, Fritz was keen to highlight the differences between Gauff and Sabalenka’s racket smashes.
“I remember a clip of [Aryna] Sabalenka breaking a racket after the US Open,” he said.
“The room she did it in, we all know there are cameras there, so if they show that, I don’t really have an issue with them showing it, because she has to know, she knew there were cameras there.
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“It’s up to them.”
A lot has been said about the drama surrounding Gauff and the backstage cameras, but will the tournament make any changes for 2027?
Australian Open tournament director gives his verdict on privacy controversy
Speaking to the Tennis Channel, tournament director Craig Tiley commented on the player privacy issues at the Australian Open.
“The first thing that we do, we want to listen to the players, we want to really understand what their needs are and what they want, so that’s the first question we will ask,” said Tiley.
“We’ve heard you, and we’ll go with whatever adjustments we need to make.
“We do have many areas behind the scenes, like for example, we have a coaches’ room where players and coaches can interact, which has no cameras. There’s the locker room, the training rooms, the recovery rooms, the beauty room, the sleep room; there are many places we have on site that are player-only, no cameras.
“In the general corridors going in and out of the areas, walking on the court, of course, there are cameras, but we’ll continue to review it and make sure the players are comfortable with it.”
Only time will tell what changes Tiley comes up with for next year’s event, but it will certainly be something to look out for.
The 2027 Australian Open is scheduled to begin on January 17.
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