WATCH: Coco Gauff goes backstage to destroy her racket after Australian Open loss
NewsTuesday, 27 January 2026 at 12:31
Coco Gauff was understandably frustrated after her quarter-final loss at the 2026 Australian Open, which resulted in her destroying her racket.
As a two-time major champion and a 10-time quarter-finalist, reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament isn't something Gauff would consider a huge success. The American player has her sights set on the trophy every time she enters a major event.
This year, she entered the Australian Open as the third seed and one of the top favorites to win, after beating the likes of Maria Sakkari and Iga Swiatek at the United Cup before heading to Melbourne.
The 21-year-old impressed with her play at the "Happy Slam" as well, beating Kamilla Rakhimova, Olga Danilovic, Hailey Baptiste, and Karolina Muchova to reach the quarter-finals. But her quarter-final opponent was an in-form Elina Svitolina, who has won all of the matches played in 2026.
The Ukrainian entered the match with a perfect 9-0 record and improved it to 10-0 after comfortably beating Gauff 6-1, 6-2. It wasn't a good performance from Gauff, quite the opposite, it was one of her worst career performances at majors.
She made five double faults, hit only three winners, and had a total of 26 unforced errors. Gauff won only 31 out of 88 points played, and she was understandably furious after the loss. However, Gauff isn't a player who would usually misbehave on the court, and that was also the case this time around.
Instead of taking out her frustration on the court in front of the fans, Gauff went backstage to destroy one of her rackets after the loss. The moment was almost an exact copy of when Aryna Sabalenka destroyed her racket after losing to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final.
Former world No. 1 reacts to Coco Gauff smashing her racket
It's not clear whether Gauff was aware that she was being recorded, but players know that most of the players' areas are being recorded 24/7. Former WTA world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki saw the footage of Gauff destroying her racket, and the former Danish player said that it looked like the American player was trying to hide behind a wall, so she wouldn't be seen destroying her racket.
"She obviously lost pretty badly, and so for her, that’s gonna be fresh, and as an athlete, that’s not the way that you want to get out of a tournament. And honestly, I don’t mind, you know, show your frustration, get it out, move on, and get back on a practice court."
"We have cameras everywhere around the grounds. I think she tried to move out behind that wall, thought maybe you wouldn’t be able to see her there. It is what it is."
Wozniacki also shared her thoughts on what's next for Gauff. The American will need to analyze the loss and prepare for the Middle Eastern swing, where she will want to challenge for the trophies in Doha and Dubai.
"She’s got to find a flight home and try to just digest this match, talk to her team, say, ‘Okay, what went wrong? Why did it go south so quickly? And how do I get more consistency on my serve?’ Maybe we don’t need to talk technique that much. Maybe I just need reps. Maybe I just need to be out there by myself and figure out a rhythm that works for me."
"And then she’s going to go practice, and everything’s gonna go back to normal. She’s going to go play in the Middle East, and she’s going to find her way back. She’s still young. There’s no reason to stress, and we’re gonna see her back at the big stages."
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