Coco Gauff’s US Open run got here to an finish on Monday afternoon in Flushing Meadows because the 21-year-old fell to Naomi Osaka in fourth-round motion inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was a match that failed to satisfy expectations, as Gauff hit 33 unforced errors and by no means noticed a break level. Gauff admitted afterwards that her efficiency fell wanting her expectations.
“It’s disappointing. For positive it was not the extent that I wished to convey, however it’s a step in the fitting path I really feel, and I feel emotionally how a lot this week was, I feel in the present day I simply stepped in, and I possibly was a little bit bit empty,” Gauff mentioned. “She compelled me to earn each level on the market in the present day.”
Regardless of the sting of defeat, Gauff stays clear-eyed about her journey. She acknowledged the problem of navigating the summer season hard-court swing whereas striving to treatment deficiencies in her serve, and spoke candidly in regards to the stress she feels to succeed at a younger age.
“I don’t know. I feel in the present day after I walked on the courtroom — and, I don’t know, I really feel like I put a lot stress on myself at my age at 21, and I notice how a lot the women on tour are being profitable at 25, 26, at these ages,” she mentioned. “For me it simply will get me excited to comprehend if I’ve 4 extra years of simply working as laborious as I’m proper now and really doing the fitting issues, like the place my sport may very well be.”
Gauff has nothing to be ashamed of—she has already captured two of the final 9 majors and stays one of many brightest younger stars in tennis. Relatively than resting on her laurels, she is dedicated to refining her sport, significantly her serve, by means of continued work with biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan.
“It’s been a troublesome post-French Open for me,” Gauff mentioned. “I do know the enhancements that I have to make, and I really feel like I’m making the fitting choice by making them.”
She says she plans to take the deal with the remainder of the season as a warmup for the 2026 Australian Open, focusing little on outcomes and primarily on persevering with to develop her serve. ]
“I feel there’s quite a lot of positives to take from this match, and I’m making an attempt to be constructive in entrance of you guys,” she mentioned. “I promise you that I don’t really feel that means proper now, however I’m not going to let this crush me.
“I look ahead to the long run and making extra enhancements. Yeah, hopefully subsequent yr I can develop quite a bit as a participant and as an individual.”
