Coco Gauff managed to display her funny side even after suffering a crushing loss to Elina Svitolina in the 2026 Italian Open final. The American called attention to the most challenging aspect of finishing a tournament as the runner-up, while making it clear that her complaints were all in jest.
How Coco Gauff Reacted to Her Runner-Up Finish at the Italian Open
After falling short against Jasmine Paolini in last year’s final, Gauff was determined to finally clinch her maiden Italian Open trophy. However, Elina Svitolina played spoilsport in the title clash, holding off the No. 3 seed’s comeback bid to claim a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 victory after a 2-hour, 49-minute battle. With the triumph, Svitolina clinched her third title at the WTA 1000 event in Rome and extended her head-to-head advantage against the American to 4-2.
Following her defeat, Gauff took to Instagram and humorously detailed how enduring the trophy ceremony as the runner-up has all the makings of a horror show.
“top 5 horror movies 1. sitting through a trophy ceremony after you lose 2. talking after you lose 3. smiling with your finalist trophy 4. sitting through trophy ceremony when you lose 5. ceremony after you lose,” she wrote.
The 22-year-old shared an important disclaimer, clarifying that her comments were made in good fun.
“Also before the think pieces come…. this is a joke and i’m smiling while writing this thought it would be funny. not meant to be taken seriously lol before the ppl with no humor get mad,” she added.
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Gauff also poked fun at herself, quipping that she spent the trophy ceremony playing back all her “mistakes” in the match.
“me disassociating replaying all of my mistakes in my head and trying not to crash out during the ceremony:,” she remarked.
Despite the self-deprecating humor, she expressed pride in her Rome campaign and turned her focus to the upcoming French Open.
“On a real note tho, was a fun two weeks. proud of myself. learned a lot. ready for Paris now,” she wrote.
Gauff was also very gracious in her runner-up speech despite her inner turmoil, congratulating Svitolina on her victory and expressing hope that they would meet again in the French Open final.
“First I want to congratulate Elina. Another tough battle between us. I’m on the other side but hopefully one of these days I can get over that. But no, seriously you had an incredible tournament. A lot of long matches against great players so congratulations to you and your team. Always very nice on and off the court. Hopefully see you at French Open in the final. That would be nice,” she said.
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Coco Gauff will enter the clay-court Major as the defending champion after triumphing over Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final. The American will be on the hunt for her third Grand Slam title when she arrives at Roland Garros, which is set to run from May 18 to June 7.
