Tuesday's loss was a hard one to watch for Coco Gauff fans. But it was even harder for Gauff to digest, given her off-court outburst, and now she's pointed out how athletes can't even have a private moment during broadcast.

“I kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments — the same thing happened to Aryna [Sabalenka] after I played her in the final of U.S. Open (in 2023) I feel like they don’t need to broadcast," said the 21-year-old.

“I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did,” Gauff explained, referring to the moment when she walked off the court and into the player's tunnel. There she smashed her lavender Head racket on the ground several times.

“Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room”, Gauff added.

After a disappointing 6-1, 6-2 loss to Elina Svitolina, Coco Gauff found herself in a moment of frustration, one she thought she would deal with in private. Instead, the Australian Open broadcast it for everyone to see while her opponent's on-court interview was on.

Gauff’s display in the quarterfinals didn’t match the performances she delivered in the earlier rounds. She struggled with her serve and forehand, committing 26 unforced errors and hitting just 3 winners in 59 minutes of play. The 21-year-old was not her best, as she later described her game as 'awkward'.

But Coco Gauff is not ashamed of her reaction

Gauff felt she needed the outburst. On a previous occasion, the then 19-year-old broke her racquet on court at the French Open. She promised never to do it again and decided to take her frustration and release it in a private space this time.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing”, Gauff remarked, explaining that it was a way for her to avoid lashing out at the people around her, who didn’t deserve her anger.

And Aryna Sabalenka shared the same thoughts. “I needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech. I was just trying to let it go & be a good person, be respectful,” Sabalenka said after her racquet smash at the U. S Open in 2023.

Australian tennis icon Jelena Dokic also asked fans to cut Coco Gauff some slack. "Having such a tough day, and being under so much pressure and expectation, and so many times you feel like you've got to let it out somewhere," she told Grand Slam Daily.

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi