Coco Gauff has launched a furious criticism of the Australian Open and its lack of privacy after she was caught on camera smashing her racket to pieces.
The American star, still just 21, was dumped out of the tournament in under an hour by Elina Svitolina and she let her frustration out in a rare display of anger after the match.
The incident was broadcast for the world to see, despite it taking place behind the scenes in the players’ area, and Gauff has now hit out at the Australian Open for allowing her private moment to be shown to millions of viewers.
‘I have a thing with the broadcast,’ she said in her press conference shortly after the loss. ‘I feel like certain moments – the same thing happened to Aryna (Sabalenka) after I played her in the final of the US Open – they don’t need to be broadcast.
‘I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera, because I don’t like breaking rackets. I broke one racket at the French Open and I said I would never do it again on court, because I don’t feel like that’s a good representation.
‘I went somewhere where I thought they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.’
Coco Gauff repeatedly smashed her racket after losing to Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open
The world No 3 was furious that a moment she believed to be private was shown to the world
She was then asked about the benefits of letting her frustrations out on the racket, revealing it calmed down her emotions ahead of speaking to her team.
‘Yeah, definitely,’ she said. ‘I think for me, I know myself. I don’t want to lash out on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve that. I know I’m emotional.
‘I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. 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.. otherwise I’m just gonna be snappy with the people around me.
‘I don’t want to do that. Like I said they don’t deserve it. They did their best. I did mine. Just need to let the frustration out.’
Gauff is notoriously calm in the public eye and has carried the weight of American expectations on her shoulder for years, having won her first Grand Slam title in New York at the age of just 19.
Gauff was expected to win the match but she ended up losing in under an hour to the 12th seed
She is world No 3 and despite her young age, has spoken confidently and passionately about various cultural and political controversies, always handling them delicately and professionally.
Therefore, it came as a shock to see her red mist descend after the quarterfinal loss, which saw her dumped out at the hands of the 12th seed Svitolina.
If Gauff had won, she would have set up a semifinal showdown with world No 1 Sabalenka, who she referenced in her quotes about privacy.
After the 2023 US Open final loss, Sabalenka hit the headlines for furiously smashing her racket in a similar fashion to Gauff on Tuesday.
Elina Svitolina moves on to the semifinal of this year’s Australian Open in Melbourne
After the Belarusian lost to Gauff in New York, she cried on the court and then went back to the locker room, where her fury got the better of her.
In the clip, she took a new racket from her bag, smashed it on the ground and then dumped it into a trash can.
In the grasping rush for content, Grand Slams are putting more and more cameras around the players’ areas and the result has been some compelling but intrusive footage.
It remains to be seen whether Gauff will go further in her crusade to secure more privacy for players on the ATP and WTA Tours.
