Coco Gauff Stunned Already In Her First Match At Qatar Open In Doha
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Coco Gauff was on a winning streak earlier this year, but now she recorded her second consecutive loss after losing in the second round of the 2025 Qatar Open in Doha.
Gauff had an exceptional end to the 2024 season. She won the China Open in Beijing, reached the semi-finals at the Wuhan Open, and the American player also won the WTA Finals.
That meant she won 13 of the last 15 matches last season. She was able to carry that form into the 2025 season. Gauff started by winning five matches at the United Cup and then another four at the Australian Open before she was stopped by Paula Badosa.
Since then, the 20-year-old hasn't appeared on the tennis courts until the first WTA 1000 tournament of the season. Like the rest of the players, Gauff signed up to compete at the Qatar Open in Doha.
As a third seed in Doha, she avoided a first-round match, but she faced a challenging opponent already in the second round. World No. 21 Marta Kostyuk is actually the second highest-ranked unseeded player in the draw, and she certainly proved her qualities against Gauff.
The two had met four times before, with the American player winning three of those matches, but she wasn't able to follow up on her previous success against the Ukrainian.
Gauff didn't play well at the start of the match. She fell behind by one break at 0-2, and even though she immediately broke back, she was also broken back, losing 1-3.
Kostyuk then continued holding her serve and even added another break to win the first set of the match 6-2. Gauff won only 47% of rallies after her first serve in the first set, which was a big problem.
But the 2023 US Open champion couldn't improve her serving in the second set. She made four double faults, and despite having a great start, Gauff just couldn't play her best tennis.
She led 3-1 and, after saving two break points, 4-2 in the second set of the match. But Kostyuk then had a streak of nine consecutive points won, which erased any advantage Gauff previously had.
On top of that, the WTA World No. 3 couldn't convert a break point to lead 5-4, and since she continued struggling on her serve, she found herself facing two match points down 4-6.
Gauff saved the first one but sent a backhand into the net on the second match point, losing the match 2-6, 5-7. She will want to forget this loss and start preparing for the Dubai Championships.
