AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 27, 2026

Coco Gauff

Press Conference

E. SVITOLINA/C. Gauff

6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Coco, a tough one out there today. Just give us your overall thoughts on the match and how Elina played today.

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, she played really well, and unfortunately, usually when people raise their level, I'm able to raise mine, and today I just -- I didn't do that.

So I have to, like, figure out how not to do that again.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. As you said, she played very well today, but this wasn't your best day. When did you realize it's not happening for me at the moment? I imagine it's a process of trying to make it happen, but was it clear to you that it wasn't quite there today?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, like, mid-second set, I feel like sometimes you lose a set 6-1, and it's like, Okay, whatever, reset.

Then 3-0, I was glad to get that game. I don't know. I just felt like all the things I do well, I just wasn't doing well today. The backhand wasn't firing. Forehand wasn't really firing. Returns. There was just a lot that didn't go well today.

I credit it to her because she forced me to play like that. It's not like I just woke up and, yeah, today was a bad day, but bad days are often caused by your opponent. So she did well.

Yeah, usually I'm able to kind of scrap out at least to make the scoreline tighter, and then you never know, nerves can come up on her, something like that. Today I just wasn't able to do that.

Q. You could see the frustration from you out on the court. When you don't have your best stuff, what are you going through mentally and emotionally?

COCO GAUFF: I mean, honestly, like the first set, after that I was still optimistic. I played two three-setters already this week.

Yeah, I just felt like, okay, obviously you want to win the first set when you're in a quarterfinal in general, but I couldn't change that, so I felt like emotionally, I think it was just frustration, and it showed.

I tried my best to be positive, but I just felt like nothing for me at the moment was working. Yeah, that's a bit frustrating when you are out there and you feel like your strengths aren't really doing their thing.

Q. Seemed like you made some sort of miscalculation or your team did with the strings and sent some racquets off. Curious what happened there. Also, when you were going through that frustration, what is your box telling you? What are those interchanges like in terms of what you're asking and what you're getting?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I mean, it wasn't a miscalculation. I was playing with the tension that I normally use, and obviously today was a bit weird trying to figure out how I wanted to be strung, because I found out the roof would be closed a little bit later.

I mean, I figured it would be closed, but you just don't know. I hadn't played with the roof closed, so I didn't know. I felt like the ball was slower.

Obviously I've been playing mainly day and with the roof open and hot conditions, so I felt I needed to go lower. But it wasn't a miscalculation. I don't think that's the reason why I lost today. I'm not picky with the racquets.

It was just something that, okay, I'm not feeling great. What can I change that's in my control, and the tension is one of those things that I just thought that maybe I could change it and it would help.

But, yeah, I don't think that was a reason as to why I was playing like today.

Q. Then just what were you asking to your box, and what were they telling you?

COCO GAUFF: I was just asking, like, Am I playing wrong? Yeah, just asking for advice.

I mean, yeah, obviously she was playing well and I wasn't. So they were just telling me to go for bigger targets, hit through the middle.

But, I don't know, I just felt like hitting through the middle against her wasn't working, because she was hitting winners. So, yeah, it was just an awkward day, I think.

Q. After the match there was a video of you breaking your racquet off the court. It happens, but I'm curious, have you done that before?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I tried to go somewhere where there was no cameras.

Q. They're everywhere, right?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, 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.

I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn't a camera, because I don't necessarily like breaking racquets, but I lost 1 and 2. I broke one racquet on quarters, I think, or round of 16 of French Open, I think, and I said I would never do it again on court, because I don't feel like that's a good representation.

But yeah, I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn't broadcast it, but obviously they did. So, yeah, maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.

Q. Given what you just said, is there part of you that just thinks it's healthy to just smash that racquet and just get that loss over and done with? Does it help you move on?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, definitely. I think for me, I know myself, and I don't want to lash out on my team. They're good people. They don't deserve that, and I know I'm emotional.

So, yeah, I just took the minute to go and do that. Yeah, I don't think it's a bad thing. Like I said, I don't try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion. Otherwise, I'm just going to be snappy with the people around me, and I don't want to do that, because like I said, they don't deserve it. They did their best. I did mine. Just need to let the frustration out.

Q. Coco, obviously not your best day, and she was sort of growing with confidence as the match went on and taking bigger swipes at the ball. Is this a day that you kind of erase from the hard drive or something that you analyze? Can you just assess your level for the whole tournament?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah. I don't know. I don't have the answer to that question right now. I mean, immediately after I was analyzing, just looking at the stats. 70% of first serves in. 40% of that won. That's something I think that cannot happen for me in the future.

But obviously, yeah, it's one of those days I'm not going to think about this, like, the next time I play a match, but also, I need to, I guess, learn from the experience on the mental standpoint of when things are going wrong how to better respond to that.

I felt like my match also at United Cup was very similar where it was not a good day for me, and I didn't figure it out. I got lucky to scrap that second set out. So I just need to figure out the maybe three things that I just need to focus on when I feel like I'm not feeling my best, because it will happen again. I mean, it's two weeks. Some players play well two weeks for the whole time, but there was many matches watching Serena play that she would play bad and be able to scrap those out and win the title. I just need to figure out how to get through those bad days.

Q. Coco, obviously looking at your tournament, obviously, you know, today is probably one day that you probably want to get out of the way, but looking at the tournament, you know, looking at your other three or four matches that you had, I sort of found that your serve was a step in the right direction in terms of working that through. You know, obviously, you won some matches with your serve and being able to serve it out. How much confidence does that sort of give you? Obviously it's an area that you have been working on over the last six months. How much confidence does that give you, like, this whole tournament, being able to do that more often than not?

COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think it is a step in the right direction. Yeah, I feel like there's definitely positives I can take, especially in my last match against Karolina. I feel like that moment was definitely a game I would usually throw in some doubles. So there are positives to take.

Is my serve where I want it to be? No. Like, I definitely served well in some matches, but I feel like today it's one of those shots that I would like to be the shot to get me out of trouble.

But, yeah, I definitely can look back at this tournament and say that it has improved. I hope that the trend can continue upward. I definitely feel like we're working on the right things.

The focus was making the second more reliable, which it definitely is more reliable, but obviously I want to just continue that and then make the first serve a bit more aggressive, which I did use it in moments in my previous matches, but I think more on a consistent basis.