“If there’s no place outside the locker rooms to lose it...”: Roddick supports Coco Gauff’s locker room meltdown

Andy Roddick reacted to Coco Gauff’s fierce outburst after losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The former World No. 1 referred to the moment in which Gauff smashed a racket in the locker rooms, minutes after her 1-6, 2-6 defeat to Elina Svitolina.

The American was commenting on the current events of the Aussie Open on Served with Roddick, where, after the latest day of action, Gauff’s loss became one of the unavoidable topics, bringing to light the moment of anger from the 21-year-old player that went viral on social media. “Can we also talk about this? I get that you don’t want people doing it all the time. I broke rackets. I shouldn’t have. It’s not a good example,” he said.

“But it’s a slippery slope to say it’s a bad example for people watching. It’s sports. Does anyone ever tell the NBA not to say something to a ref? There isn’t a moral reckoning every time someone cusses at a referee,” added the former World No. 1, who also smashed several rackets during his career. “With how famous she is and what she stands for, she’s as buttoned-up as any 21-year-old I’ve ever seen in this game.”

The 2003 US Open champion defended the idea that there is no space where players can have a ‘break room’ in private and away from the cameras. “I’m not saying remove all the cameras, because I think they add layering and texture. It’s fun when you see Carlos come in, shake hands, laugh, joke. It shows personality,” Roddick added. “When Sabalenka finds a camera and plays with it, that’s fun. It’s like the walk-ins at NBA or WNBA games. That’s great.”

“But can there be a unisex place for people to have a private conversation or break something? Just a break room.”

“If there’s no place outside the locker rooms to lose it, how are you ever going to have an intense conversation with your coach if they’re not the same gender?" Roddick defended. "You shouldn’t have to wait until you get back to the hotel or into a car"

“We don’t hear every conversation when an NFL coach is laying into his team, and I don’t know that we should be privy to that. Public spaces are great. I just think players should know where, when, how, and if there’s a spot they can go to be normal and petulant.”

For Roddick, while this type of behaviour, such as breaking rackets, should not be justified, he empathised with the emotionally complicated moment Gauff was facing after such a painful defeat. “Should Coco be able to have a heated conversation with her team? Should she be able to break down in front of them without it becoming tabloid content? Probably.”

“You also can’t really do that in a locker room. I remember taking devastating losses in finals. After our last Wimbledon final, Roger came in knowing I was crushed, and he and his team had to leave the locker room to celebrate. That stinks too. There’s no natural place to go,” Roddick added. “As a player, you’re also conscious of not stealing joy from someone else if you’re melting down. You don’t want your emotions interfering with theirs, but it’s a highly emotional moment.

“I get where Coco is coming from,” Roddick added. “If she’s conscious enough to go find a place to have a conversation or throw something, sure. But that also strengthens the case that if someone goes to the gym knowing there are cameras there, then fair game.”

However, not everything stayed focused on Coco Gauff’s reaction, as Roddick also had praise for the winner of the day, Elina Svitolina, who reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the fourth time in her career and for the first time in Melbourne.

“Svitolina has been playing great, had a win coming in, and drilled Andreeva. That was one where it kind of changed the way I viewed her. But beating Coco one and two in a Slam, that was one-way traffic,” Roddick commented on the Ukrainian’s level. “I’ll tell you this about Svitolina. She’s never been known as one of the top five movers on tour. I don’t know that she’s ever been in that conversation. And I don’t think anyone’s ever said, ‘Oh, she just goes rip city,’ like she’s one of the biggest hitters.”

The 31-year-old player had fallen in her three previous Australian Open quarterfinal appearances, and for Roddick this time she looks at a better level than ever, which places her as a serious title contender. “She’s always been a very solid, well-rounded tennis player. I think she’s moving as well as she ever has.”

“I think she’s as fit as she’s ever been,” Roddick added. “She’s actually getting in and out of the corners, and on the second serve she was stepping two, three feet inside the baseline. It wasn’t a mystery what was going to happen. She was going massive to Coco’s forehand on that first ball, and then she would go there again and again, creating a lot of speed and kind of just exposing her. She didn’t really let Coco play much.”

“So she’s playing, dare I say it—and I hate to be full of hyperbole—but I think she’s playing maybe as well as she ever has. That’s pretty incredible,” the former World No. 1 stated. “She said after the match that after having her child, her goal was to get back into the top 10. This win will put her back into the top 10, but it’s like, hey, now you’re in the semis. You’re not finished.”

Svitolina will face Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, who has recorded 25 wins in her last 26 appearances at the Australian Open. The Belarusian World No. 1 also holds a 4-1 advantage in the head-to-head (2-0 on hard courts)