Coco Gauff suffered a shocking loss at the 2024 Cincinnati Open and refused to do the press conference after her early exit.
It was quite a strange day at the office for Gauff on Thursday in Cincinnati. The American arrived in not the best form after crashing early out of the Paris Olympics and losing early at the Canadian Open.
Still, there was a lot of optimism due to how she played in Cincinnati last year. Last year's campaign in Cincinnati was amazing for the young American. She finished the WTA 1000 event by winning her biggest trophy up until that point.
She also bested Iga Swiatek for the first time in her career, which was a hugely significant event for her career trajectory. The confidence gained there proved vital for her to win the US Open, which replaced the Cincinnati Open as the biggest trophy she had won in her career.
Fast-forward one year, and the situation is quite different. Despite everyone's optimism, plenty were skeptical as well ahead of the 2024 Cincinnati Open.
It's been a while since Gauff played really good tennis, and nobody will feel any better after seeing how she performed in her most recent match. The American had some problems against Yulia Putintseva, but she still put herself in a position to win the match.
Being up 4-2 in the final set with a chance to make it 5-2 was good enough of a position to win the match, but she didn't. The American lost four games in a row instead, losing the final set 4-6 to lose the match.
It was a shocking loss that left her quite shaken afterward. She refused to hold a press conference afterward, which is not very common. Gauff never declines a press conference, but it's clear that this time around, the American was in no mood to talk to the media.
It likely wouldn't be a nice press conference because she would get asked many questions about her poor form and the daunting task of defending the US Open trophy while struggling to win any matches.
She didn't completely avoid the media because she agreed to do a short media session with the Cincinnati Open media staff.
"It was not the best match for me. I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 (in the third). I think most of the points she won were off my errors. She's always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball. She has drop shots, slice. She's kind of someone that makes you earn the match."
Gauff didn't say much as she wasn't in the mood to talk, but she was also asked what her plan was regarding the 2024 US Open, where she will be the defending champion. She will go home and try to reset after these bad losses.
"To go home and try to reset."