It was an incredibly frustrating day for Coco Gauff on the court Tuesday. Gauff has had unusual struggles with her serve, suffering five double faults in her 2026 Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Elena Svitolina.
Gauff never really faced off against Svitolina. All five of Gauff’s double faults occurred in the first set on Tuesday, resulting in Gauff winning only one game in the set and losing 6-1. While Goff has shown an ability to bounce back when faced with adversity, she was unable to do so on Tuesday. Svitolina defeated Gauff 6-2 and won the match in straight sets.
The entire match lasted only 59 minutes, making it the shortest women’s singles quarterfinal in the Australian Open’s six years. With this victory, Svitolina advanced to the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in her career. She will face No. 1 women’s Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday.
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As for Goff, she wasn’t happy with her performance on Tuesday. After the game, Gauff was caught on camera smashing his racket in frustration in the tunnel at Rod Laver Arena.
Goff intentionally tried to knock the racket off the camera and said she didn’t think the moment needed to be played on the broadcast.
The 21-year-old explained her behavior after the game, saying she didn’t want to lose her temper on the court in front of fans or let the team bear the losses.
The loss marked the second consecutive year Goff was eliminated in the quarterfinals. She has only advanced past one round at the 2024 Australian Open, when she reached the semifinals. Gauff lost to Sabalenka that year and never won the Australian Open.
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This story will be updated.