After her semi-final defeat in Dubai, Coco Gauff did not hide her frustration.
The world No 4 fell 6-4, 6-7(13), 6-4 to Elina Svitolina in a three-hour battle at the WTA 1000 event, but it was her struggles on serve and her emotional reaction that drew attention.
Gauff was broken six times, hit 12 double faults, and won just 43 percent of her second-serve points. After double-faulting at 3-3 in the second set, she turned toward her box and directed her frustration at her biomechanics coach.
“I’ve been doing everything you wanted for six months… I’m not better at all,” she said.
The serving issues have followed her across seasons. Gauff recorded the most double faults on the WTA Tour in 2024 (430) and 2025 (431), and the pattern resurfaced at critical moments against Svitolina.
Despite the setbacks, Gauff showed resilience. She recovered from 3-1 down in the first set, saved four match points in a 28-point second-set tiebreak, and forced a decider. She even broke to start the third before losing serve twice as Svitolina closed it out.
In her post-match press conference, Gauff struck a calmer tone.
“It’s tough to be on the losing end of a match like this, but there’s a lot of positives to take from it,” she said. “Elina played great, I thought I played great and it came down to the wire. I’ll definitely learn from this match in the future.”
She added:
“I started off the week just trying to win one match here, and so I’m glad to have made it to the semis and I was really close to making it to the final. Entering a tournament not in my best form and still making the semis means a lot, so hopefully I can take this momentum into Indian Wells and Miami.”
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