Unforced errors doom Coco Gauff in Australian Open quarterfinal

World No. 3 Coco Gauff made a series of mistakes in her 5-7, 4-6 loss to Paula Badosa in the quarterfinal of the 2025 Australian Open on Tuesday. 

The American committed a whopping 41 unforced errors, double-faulted six times and won only 35 percent of her second-serve points, failing to sustain any rhythm in a match that lasted 1 hour and 43 minutes. Gauff's mistakes amounted to 10 break-point opportunities for Badosa, who converted on four to seal the biggest win of her career.

Gauff's mistakes led to her downfall even as she hit 16 more winners than Badosa and converted 15-of-16 net points. The 20-year-old looked primed to take the first set when she claimed a 5-4 lead with a signature forehand winner. However, she would commit three consecutive unforced errors in her next service game to give the Spaniard the decisive edge. From that point, Badosa would never trail on the scoreboard, asserting her dominance in the second set.

The final result was a shocker after Gauff dominated Badosa in both their encounters in 2024 — in Rome and Beijing. 

After the loss, Gauff — who entered the match undefeated in 2025 — refused to overreact while asking "internet coaches" to keep their opinions to themselves. 

"Most of the internet coaches never coached anyone at my level or never played," Gauff said of her critics. "So it's easier to look on the outside... people want to say things, it is what it is. I take it with a grain of salt. Some people do mean well, so I don't look at it as all bad. I'm proud of myself, that's all I can say."

Gauff reiterated earlier comments that she's "a work in progress" and will only benefit from her growing pains. 

"I promise that I'm going to try and improve and live up to my own expectations of myself," she added.