Coco Gauff’s Australian Open campaign came to a disappointing end as she suffered a 1-6, 2-6 drubbing at the hands of 12th seed Elina Svitolina. The American’s frustrations on the defeat were visible in a post-match moment that was captured.
Coco Gauff’s Reaction to Australian Open Exit
Gauff entered the Australian Open as the third seed after winning three of her four singles matches at the United Cup. The American started her tournament with straight-set wins over Kamilla Rakhimova and Olga Danilović before seeing off compatriot Hailey Baptiste and 19th seed Karolína Muchová, both in three sets.
She faced Svitolina in the quarterfinals and the Ukrainian pulled off a dominant display to beat her 6-1, 6-2 and reach her maiden Australian Open semifinal. The 31-year-old thus ensured a return to the Top 10 of the WTA rankings and tying her head-to-head against Gauff at 2-2.
After the match, Gauff was spotted angrily smashing her racket after leaving the court. Her frustration was visible as she suffered a second successive Australian Open quarterfinal exit, having lost to Paula Badosa at this stage last year. It was also the American’s worst defeat in a Grand Slam at the quarterfinal stage or beyond in terms of number of games won, having clinched only three.
Coco said f this, she’ll be back tho #Gauff #Svitolina #AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/wamK21NDx0
— SportsTrap (@SportsTrapX) January 27, 2026
After defeating Gauff, Svitolina will have a daunting task ahead as she will lock horns with World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for a place in the Australian Open final.
