Coco Gauff Plays Down Expectations For the Rest of the Year After US Open Exit

Coco Gauff has downplayed the importance of the remainder of the season after suffering a fourth-round loss against Naomi Osaka at the US Open. The former World No.2 was bidding for her third Grand Slam but failed to perform at her best level on the hard court despite being one of the favorites to win the title at Flushing Meadows.

Gauff had overcome Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round, despite hitting 59 unforced errors. During her second-round match against Donna Vekic, she broke into tears as the weight of all her efforts to work on her serve overwhelmed her. But the 21-year-old cruised to the third round, where she beat Magdalena Frech in straight sets.

She faced Osaka in the fourth round and allowed errors to ruin her game. The World No.3 uncharacteristically hit 33 unforced errors and never found a way to earn a break point against the former champion. Osaka played patiently, drawing mistakes out of her opponent, whose forehand was particularly poor.

The former World No.1 won 16 of the 24 rallies that went five shots or more. She also converted all four break points she earned in the match. The Japanese star defeated the 21-year-old 6-3, 6-2 to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-finals after four and a half years, and her third US Open quarter-finals.

During Gauff’s post-match press conference, she was asked what she would do after the US Open. The French Open champion revealed that she will start her 2026 preseason at the New York Grand Slam, taking an intensive training until the China Open, which kicks off on September 24 in Beijing:

I’m going to have a training block from now until the Beijing tournament. For me, when the US Open ends, it’s like starting a preseason for the Australian Open. Last year I did very well in that part of the year because I took it quite lightly; I didn’t give those tournaments too much importance. If they had told me I would win in Beijing and the WTA Finals, I would have said I didn’t care. I don’t care about the results I might achieve soon; I simply want to improve for the Grand Slams.

Gauff took a big gamble before the US Open by reshuffling her team as she wanted to deal with her poor serving problems. She parted ways with Matt Daly and brought in biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan to solve her problems. The move led to an intense scrutiny of her game during the US Open.

Coco Gauff believes she’s moving in the right direction despite losing to Naomi Osaka at the US Open

Coco Gauff has not been at the same level she was during the clay-court season. She reached three consecutive finals on the red dirt, starting at the Madrid, Italian, and French Open. She won her second Grand Slam at Roland Garros and, since then, has been to only one quarter-final in the WTA circuit.