World No. 3 Coco Gauff’s Australian Open campaign came to a disappointing end on Tuesday after she was crushed 6-1 6-2 by an inspired Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
Gauff struggled to find any rhythm throughout the match, despite coming in with a solid win over Karolina Muchova in the previous round. Svitolina completely overwhelmed her from the baseline, breaking serve six times and handing the American one of the heaviest defeats of her career.
Post-Match Meltdown Caught on Camera
In the aftermath of the loss, Gauff was visibly emotional. After leaving the court, she smashed her racket near the locker rooms, in scenes reminiscent of Aryna Sabalenka’s reaction following her loss in the 2023 US Open final.
Coco Gauff releases her frustrations after a disappointing defeat in the Australian Open quarter-finals 💥 pic.twitter.com/4Ur9jlxR0P
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 27, 2026
The meltdown was captured by one of the tournament cameras and quickly went viral online.
Gauff Questions Broadcasting of Private Moments
Speaking to the media after her defeat, Gauff suggested that tournament organizers could do a better job of protecting players’ privacy during emotional moments following losses.
“I tried to go somewhere where there were no cameras. I kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments–the same thing happened to Aryna after I played her in final of US Open. I feel like they don’t need to broadcast… but obviously they did. So maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament, the only private place we have is the locker room.”
This sentiment has also been expressed by several other players in recent years, many of whom have called for greater privacy instead of having their most vulnerable moments broadcast across the world.
As a result of this defeat, Gauff is set to drop to at least World No. 4 in the rankings, with Amanda Anisimova overtaking her. More concerning is the pattern emerging at the Majors. This marks the third consecutive Slam where Gauff has underperformed relative to her seeding, with all three defeats coming in straight sets.
While the season is still young and she has ample time to reset, the pressure will now begin to mount as questions grow around her consistency on the biggest stages.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images