Coco Gauff calls for change in privacy standards after racket-smashing clip goes viral
NewsTuesday, 27 January 2026 at 18:47
Coco Gauff wasn't happy that she was seen breaking her racket backstage after a quarter-final loss at the 2026 Australian Open.
Gauff entered her quarter-final match at the Australian Open against Elina Svitolina as a minor favorite, even though the Ukrainian was on a nine-match winning streak prior to the match. The American player also started the season well, so she had a reason to be confident in her abilities.
Unfortunately for Gauff, she lost the match 1-6, 2-6, in less than an hour. It was one of her worst showings at Grand Slams, and understandably, the 21-year-old player was frustrated after such a loss.
That's why she took out her anger on one of her rackets, but not on the Rod Laver Arena in front of the fans, but instead, in the players' area. Little did she know that she was followed by cameras all along, and the clip quickly became viral on social media.
By the time Gauff made it to her press conference, she already knew that the clip was making rounds on social media, and she also faced a question about it. The two-time major champion explained that she wanted to break her racket somewhere where she couldn't be seen, but there seemingly isn't such a place at the Australian Open. That's why she would want the privacy standards to improve.
"I tried to go somewhere where there was no cameras. 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 rackets, 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."
Gauff also explained why she chose to break the racket. Her intentions were good, as she didn't want to be frustrated when talking to her team, so she, instead, took the anger out on her racket.
"I think for me, I know myself, and I don’t want to lash out on my team. 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."
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