Coco Gauff was very disappointed with the Australian Open loss to Aryna Sabalenka, but her boyfriend helped her get over it.
Aryna Sabalenka won the first Grand Slam of the season, and she only had one tough match en route to the trophy, and even that didn't go to the third set. That match was the one against the 19-year-old American, where she was down 5-6 with Gauff serving to win the opening set.
She failed to serve it out and lost the match, leaving quite disappointed with how things unfolded. In a recent interview with Sky Sports at the 2024 Qatar Open, where she shockingly lost in the first round, Gauff admitted how she got over the defeat, and it was by flying home and spending time with people she cares about.
"I would say that the first night I was like still thinking about the things that went on in that match. You know, I felt like it was decided by a couple of points. And then after that, I flew home and then what did I do? Oh, I took off like four days; four-five days. My boyfriend came in town so I hung out with him."
Stepping away from the sport is generally a really good idea because when so much of a player's life resorts around tennis, they need an outlet to step away from all of that and recharge their batteries.
Doing that allowed Gauff to feel really excited about returning to the practice courts.
"And then I was really happy to get back on the practice court. I felt good to just be at home. We’ve built a court in my house so practicing is always very easygoing than at tournaments. Ya, I feel really refreshed."
The return in Doha wasn't very good. She probably played her worst match in months to lose to Katerina Siniakova. However, she will try to do better at the 2024 Dubai Championships, her final tournament as a teenager.