Coco Gauff burst into tears during a changeover at the US Open on Thursday night after being broken at 4-4 in the first set against Donna Vekic.
The outburst comes as Gauff has been fine tuning a new serve amid an up-and-down 2025 season.
The third-seeded former US Open champion would battle back to beat her challenger in a tiebreak, 7-6, in their second-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Following her difficult three-set win over Alja Tomljanovic in the first round on Tuesday, Gauff told reporters she would have loved more time working with serve guru Gavin MacMillan before the tournament, but instead only got six days to do so.
‘First round is more stressful than the final, in my experience,’ Gauff said Tuesday nearly two months after losing her opening match at Wimbledon. ‘Yeah, I think for me, it was a good test.
‘It’s definitely tough going through the match and battling that internal battle,’ she continued, adding: ‘especially (because) this is the first tournament.’
Gauff had a couple of late double-faults in the third set, allowing Tomljanovic to pull even. Fortunately, she was able to get back on the right track to pull out the 7-5 win in the final frame.
‘That was definitely like an old habit,’ Gauff said. ‘The next game was a lot better.’
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Coco Gauff burst into tears during a changeover at the US Open on Thursday night after being broken at 4-4 in the first set against Donna Vekic
Gauff is working to correct some issues with her serve that have plagued her in 2025
