Coco Gauff frustrated as video of ‘private’ racket smash goes public after Australian Open defeat

Gauff, thinking she was away from the public eye, was captured smashing her racket after defeat to Elina Svitolina

Coco Gauff was left frustrated by a lack of privacy at the Australian Open after she was captured smashing her racket by behind-the-scenes cameras following her brutal defeat to Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals.

The French Open champion had a day to forget as her game collapsed in a 6-1, 6-2 defeat to the 12th seed Svitolina, as she made 26 unforced errors in just 59 minutes.

The 21-year-old was noticeably distressed on court as the errors piled up. After leaving the Rod Laver Arena, Gauff, thinking she was out of sight, let off some steam by repeatedly smashing her racket off a concrete ramp.

Coco Gauff releases her frustrations after a disappointing defeat in the Australian Open quarter-finals 💥 pic.twitter.com/4Ur9jlxR0P

— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 27, 2026

But footage of the incident was immediately broadcast and shared on social media, with most player areas at the grand slam tournaments fitted with fly-on-the-wall cameras, including gyms and walkways.

A similar incident occurred in 2023, after Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final, with Judy Murray criticising the publication of footage from a training room that showed Sabalenka smashing her racket after the loss.

“I tried to go somewhere where there was no cameras,” Gauff said after the defeat.

“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 the final of the 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 rackets, but I lost [6-1 and 6-2].

“I broke one racket in a quarter-final or round of 16 of the 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.

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

Gauff was distressed on court as her errors piled up (Getty)

Gauff, the world No 3, did not hide away from an “awkward” day where she could not rely on any part of her game. But she did praise Svitolina, whose direct returns and ball-striking caused Gauff’s game to unravel.

“I just felt like all the things I do well, I just wasn’t doing well today,” Gauff said. “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.”

Gauff said that she should have been able to let out her frustration, rather than lashing out at her team. “They’re good people. They don’t deserve that, and I know I’m emotional,” she said.

“I just took the minute to go and do that. 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.

Gauff shows her frustration during her loss to Svitolina (AP)

“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.”

The statistics were just as tough for the world No 3, with just three winners to 26 unforced errors. As her game unravelled, Gauff’s team advised her to simply hit the ball into the middle of the court.

“We all have bad days at the office,” said Tim Henman on TNT Sports. “But I think in the context of being the favourite going into that match, she’s a grand slam champion, she’s won the French Open, she’s won the US Open, she’s No 3 in the world. I mean, that’s a shocking performance. There’s no two ways about it, and Svitolina just took advantage.

“But when you get a top player who can really only kick that first serve in and then, making so many mistakes from the back of the court, the assets of your game have just been completely stripped apart in front of our eyes. It was pretty tough to watch.”