Coco Gauff's Frustration Boils Over After Australian Open Quarter-Final Defeat
An emotional Coco Gauff has expressed her frustration by smashing a racquet behind the scenes following a comprehensive defeat to veteran Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarter-finals. The world number three was swept aside by Svitolina in a dominant display that lasted less than an hour under the closed roof of Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday night.
Svitolina's Commanding Victory
Elina Svitolina delivered a masterclass performance, defeating Coco Gauff with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-2. The match took place in significantly cooler conditions compared to the sweltering forty-plus degree temperatures outside Melbourne Park. This victory marks Svitolina's second consecutive win over a top-ten opponent, following her straight sets triumph over teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva in the previous round.
For Gauff, the match represented a serious disappointment, with the American waiting until she was out of the arena to release her pent-up emotions. A heavy racquet smash was captured on camera, highlighting her visible frustration after the match.
Gauff's Emotional Response
In her post-match comments, Coco Gauff explained that breaking a racquet definitely helps her process and move on from such defeats. The twenty-one-year-old emphasised her desire to avoid taking her frustrations out on her support team.
I know myself—I don't want to lash out on my team. They're good people. They don't deserve that, Gauff stated. I know I'm emotional. I just took the minute to go and do that. I don't think it's a bad thing. I don't try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that.
Gauff further elaborated on her need to express her emotions constructively. But I do know I need to let out that emotion, otherwise I'm just gonna be snappy with the people around me. I don't want to do that. Like I said they don't deserve it. They did their best. I did mine. Just need to let the frustration out.
Svitolina's Remarkable Comeback
Elina Svitolina's victory has propelled the former world number three back into the top ten rankings, a significant achievement following her maternity leave after giving birth to daughter Skai in October 2022. The twelfth seed expressed her satisfaction with this milestone.
Not bad, I would say, Svitolina remarked. I'm very, very pleased with the tournament so far and it's always been my dream to come back after maternity leave to come back into top ten. It's always been my goal. Unfortunately it didn't happen last year, you know, I stopped after September.
Svitolina revealed that returning to the top ten was a specific objective discussed during her off-season training. And then when we were training in the off-season I told my coach I want to come back in top ten still, so this was my goal for this year.
Upcoming Semi-Final Challenge
Elina Svitolina now advances to face world number one and dual Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals on Thursday. A victory would secure Svitolina a place in her first-ever grand slam final, a breakthrough she has long pursued as one of the best women's players without a major title.
It means the world to me and of course I tried to push myself, Svitolina said regarding her aspirations. I tried to give myself this motivation to continue and I'm very pleased with the performance at this tournament and in Australia. Overall it's been a good trip for me and I'm really happy to go through for my semi-final.
Despite having only one victory in six previous encounters against Sabalenka, Svitolina will draw confidence from her scintillating performance against Gauff. She broke the American's serve on all four opportunities in the first set, with Gauff struggling with racquet tension and requesting a change when trailing 4-1. An early break in the second set gave Svitolina a commanding 3-0 lead and control of the match.
Gauff's Reflection on the Match
Coco Gauff, a two-time major winner who has only once reached the semi-finals in Melbourne, acknowledged her opponent's superior performance. There's a lot that didn't go well today, the American admitted in her press conference. And I credit to her. She forced me to play like that. It's not like I just woke up and yeah, today was a bad day, but bad days are often caused by your opponents.
Gauff reflected on her inability to mount a competitive challenge. So she did well. Usually I'm able to scrap out at least to make the scoreline tighter and then you never know, nerves can come up or something like that. And today I just wasn't able to do that.
