Coco Gauff downbeat but candid after her poor performance against Svitolina: "My backhand wasn’t firing, my forehand wasn’t firing, returns weren’t working"

It was a horror show of a performance for Coco Gauff in the Australian Open quarter-final, being thrashed 6-1, 6-2 by Elina Svitolina. She was the first to admit that she was not happy with her performance while very downbeat after a damaging day.

She sportingly began her press conference by highlighting how well her opponent played. "She played really well. Unfortunately, usually when people raise their level, I’m able to raise mine, and today I just didn’t do that. So I have to figure out how not to let that happen again," she mentioned.

It just seemed to be one of these days for the young American, who just could not get out of anti-stall today. "I think mid–second set. Sometimes when you lose a set 6–1, you’re like, OK, whatever, reset," she stated. "Then it was 3–0 — I was glad to get that game — but I just felt like all the things I normally do well, I wasn’t doing well today."

The two-time Grand Slam winner just could not get into her flow. "My backhand wasn’t firing, my forehand wasn’t firing, returns weren’t working. A lot didn’t go well."

She was also quick to credit Svitolina. "I credit that to her, because she forced me to play like that. It’s not like I just woke up and had a bad day. Bad days are often caused by your opponent, and she did really well. Usually I’m able to scrap and at least make the scoreline tighter, and then you never know — nerves can come in for the other player. Today, I just wasn’t able to do that."

Gauff was blown away in the first set, failing to hold her serve even once while losing five games on the spin. However, she was still trying to be positive as she searched for a route back into the match. "Honestly, after the first set I was still optimistic," she admitted. "I’ve already played two three-setters this week. Obviously, you want to win the first set in a quarterfinal, but I couldn’t change that."

The frustrations came pouring out of her, with Gauff someone who wears her heart on her sleeve, not boxing in any emotions. "Emotionally, it was just frustration, and it showed. I tried my best to stay positive, but it felt like nothing was working. That’s frustrating when you feel like your strengths aren’t doing their thing."

Gauff would play with the roof closed for the first time in this tournament and never got used to it. This, in turn, had an effect on her racket. "It wasn’t a miscalculation," she confirmed. "I was playing with the tension I normally use. Today was a bit weird because I found out later that the roof would be closed. I hadn’t played with the roof closed, and I felt like the ball was slower. I’ve mostly been playing day matches with the roof open and hot conditions, so I thought I needed to go lower on the tension."

This was not stated as an excuse, with her hastily confirming that it was not the reason she lost today. "But I don’t think that’s the reason I lost today. I’m not picky with rackets. It was more like, OK, I’m not feeling great — what can I change that’s in my control? As for my box, I was just asking if I was playing wrong, asking for advice. They were telling me to go for bigger targets, hit through the middle. But I felt like hitting through the middle against her wasn’t working because she was hitting winners. It was just an awkward day."

After the match, as Svitolina was completing her on court interview, Gauff was searching for a quiet spot in the facilities of Rod Laver Arena. After what she though was somewhere without anyone looking, she let out some steam by slamming her racket on the floor a few times, destroying it.

Unfortunately for the American, it was picked up by a camera with the anger and frustration of her display summarised in one simple video. "I tried to go somewhere where there weren’t cameras. I feel like sometimes the broadcast doesn’t need to show those moments. The same thing happened to Iga after the US Open final."

It is not a tendency Gauff likes to do often, especially in front of people. "I don’t really like breaking rackets. I broke one on court once — I think in the French Open quarters or round of 16 — and I said I’d never do it again on court because I don’t think it’s a good representation. I tried to go somewhere private, but obviously it still got shown. I feel like at this tournament, the locker room is really the only private place."

She holds good reasons for this, rather whacking her racket in anger than lashing out at any of her team, with an example still to be kept for the younger generation. As well as that, she believes it kind of does the trick. "Yeah, definitely. I know myself. I don’t want to lash out at my team — they’re good people and they don’t deserve that," she commented. "I know I’m emotional, so I needed a minute to let it out. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I don’t do it on court in front of kids, but I do need to release that emotion. Otherwise, I’m just going to be snappy with the people around me, and I don’t want that."

The stats were not pretty for the 21-year-old. Only three winners hit compared to 26 unforced errors. Just 41% of first serve points were won, with an astonishing 18% in the second serve, with Svitolina aggressively targeting this part of her game.

When asked if she was set to erase this match from her memory, she did not give a conclusive answer. "I don’t really have the answer right now," she said. "Immediately after, I was analysing the stats — 70% first serves in, but only 40% points won on them."

This was not at the level expected, and she will look to put that right. "That can’t happen for me in the future. I’m not going to think about this match the next time I play, but I do need to learn from it mentally — how to respond better when things are going wrong."

It was not the first time, with her pinpointing her United Cup group phase match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro as another poor showing. "My match at the United Cup was similar. It wasn’t a good day, and I didn’t figure it out. I just need to find maybe three key things I can focus on when I’m not feeling my best, because it will happen again."

To become the best, she will learn from the best. "I’ve watched Serena [Williams] play bad matches and still find ways to win titles. I need to learn how to get through those days."

The press conference would end on a positive note for Gauff, who did state that an Australian Open quarter-final was a step in the right direction. It was her first major last-eight appearance since her Roland Garros title run in 2025.

"I think it is a step in the right direction," she acknowledged. "There are positives I can take, especially my match against Karolina [Muchova] — that was a game I probably would have double-faulted away before."

The serve was the main issue, with it not at the level she would be hoping for. Nevertheless, that is something she will strive to improve on throughout the rest of the year. "Is my serve where I want it to be? No. I served well in some matches, but today I wanted it to be the shot that could get me out of trouble, and it wasn’t. But I can look back at this tournament and say it has improved. The focus was making the second serve more reliable, and it definitely is. Now I want to make the first serve more aggressive on a consistent basis. I feel like we’re working on the right things, and I hope the trend continues upward."