Serena Williams offers racket-breaking advice to Coco Gauff
NewsWednesday, 28 January 2026 at 16:14
Updated at Wednesday, 28 January 2026 at 17:56
Coco Gauff might have lost her quarter-final match at the 2026 Australian Open, but she stole all the headlines with her racket destruction in the players' area.
Gauff lost her quarter-final match in Melbourne to Elina Svitolina, who advanced without ever facing a challenge in their match, beating the American player 6-1, 6-2. It was a shockingly subpar performance from Gauff, who was understandably frustrated.
When frustrated, tennis players often tend to smash their rackets against the court, but that's not something Gauff wanted to do. Instead, she waited to get to the players' area and destroyed her racket there.
Gauff thought that was a private place to do that, but little did she know that she was being recorded all that time. As a result, the footage of her breaking her racket went viral very quickly.
Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, noticed that footage and shared his thoughts about Gauff's actions on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Ohanian was supportive of how the player showed her emotions, proving she cares about winning.
"Not gonna lie, I love this energy and emotion from Coco Gauff — we love sports because it's raw, because these athletes put their ALL into the battle and sometimes (like life) you don't win. Media are gonna spin this private moment for a headline to get some clicks, but Coco did nothing wrong here."
Serena Williams saw her husband's post and replied. She agreed with her husband's take, but also playfully offered Gauff some racket-breaking advice.
"Well said. Alexis Ohanian. Passion. Caring. Matters. Nothing wrong with hating to lose. Now, Coco, when you want, I can show you how to demolish in one swipe… Serena style."
Gauff responded to Serena's post with heart and laughing emojis and also posted a short statement. She addressed the viral moment, saying she has feelings like everyone else.
"Living and learning. But still will keep trying to move forward. Also, I'm a real person with real feelings… I care a lot and I'm trying my best. Thank you to those who understand that."
Novak Djokovic gives verdict on Coco Gauff's viral racket destruction
Serena Williams wasn't the only one who reacted to Gauff's viral racket destruction. Novak Djokovic was asked about the moment as well. The Serbian legend understood the actions of the young American, having broken quite a few rackets himself.
"I see with what happened with Coco after her match. Look, I empathize with her. I know what it feels like to break a racket. I’ve done it a few times in my career. I know how it is to be frustrated, particularly after a match where you underperform."
"And I agree with her. It’s really sad that you can’t move away anywhere and hide and fume out your frustration, your anger... in a way that won’t be captured by a camera. But we live in a society where content is everything. It’s a deeper discussion."
"It’s really hard for me to see the trend changing in the opposite direction, meaning we take out the cameras. It’s only going to be as it is, or even more cameras. I’m surprised we have no cameras while we’re taking a shower. That’s probably the next step."
"I’m against it. I think there should be a limit and a borderline where this is our space. But people, commercially, there’s always a demand. How players warm up, what do they say when they speak to their coaches, what’s their cool down… they wanna see us arriving in the car and walking through corridors. You gotta be careful."
"I remember the time when we didn’t have so many cameras. Getting used to having an eye that you don’t hear that you sometimes forget about, always on you, is frightening. At times, you wanna relax and be yourself in a sense that you don’t want the public to see. It’s really hard for me to see that that’s going backwards. It’s just something, I guess we have to accept."
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