NEW YORK — Coco Gauff knew that becoming back-to-back US Open champions would be difficult.
She probably knew that no woman had repeated the feat at the tournament since. Serena Williams won her third straight a decade ago. And Gauff knows she didn’t come into this event with the same momentum as she did in 2023.
So after her first-round win on Monday, Gauff appeared to be bracing herself for the possibility that she wouldn’t — and trying to take some of the pressure off herself.
“Someone commented on my TikTok and said, ‘You’ve won in life, literally and figuratively, and there’s no reason to put pressure on yourself to celebrate,'” Gauff said. “I just look at this tournament like that. If you defend something, you’ve won. If you do it, you can do it again.
“So whether I do it again this year or not, I will do it again, whether it’s 2024 or not — I will do it again.”
On Sunday, play with Emma Navarro before a packed crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff has dashed hopes of regaining the title in the fourth round. The 20-year-old dropped the opening set, and while she fought for a decisive victory, she simply couldn’t overcome her terrible serve. She made 19 double faults and couldn’t mount another impressive comeback. After two hours and 12 minutes, she was forced off the court, losing 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
“Mentally, I gave it my all, and emotionally, I gave it my all,” Gauff said after the match, a disappointment clearly in her voice. “Of course, there were things on the execution side … obviously I wish I could have served better. I think if I had, it would have been a different story for me in the match. … So emotionally, I have no regrets, but obviously I wish I could have executed things better.”
Gauff isn’t the only contender in danger of an early exit at this year’s US Open. Carlos AlcarazThe reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion and 2022 winner in New York was surprisingly defeated in straight sets in the second round. Novak DjokovicThe defending men’s champion was eliminated the following night in the round of 32. Both cited a lack of energy after a grueling and intense summer schedule, which included multiple changes of court and the Olympic Games.
“I put a lot of energy into winning the gold medal, and I came to New York not feeling well mentally and physically,” Djokovic said. “But because [the] US Open, you know, I tried and tried my best. I mean, I didn’t have any physical problems. I just felt out of breath, and you could see that in the way I played.”
Gauff, who was given the honor of carrying the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony in Paris along with LeBron Jamesplaying singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the Olympics. While it was certainly a memorable experience, it made for a significantly different start on hard courts ahead of the US Open than it will be in 2023.
Last season, Gauff was on fire all summer, winning titles in Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati. This year, she arrived at the Canadian Open just days after being eliminated from the Olympics, going 1-2 in her two events and losing in the opening round of her title defense in Cincinnati.
But when asked if she felt mentally or physically tired after the high demands of the summer, she was reluctant to blame Sunday’s result.
“It’s a tough question because I feel like I’m ready, and I feel ready physically and mentally, but I definitely think in Toronto and Cincy, there was a little bit of mental fatigue, those tournaments with the change of court,” Gauff said. “It’s tough when you’re trying to find your form. You’re just used to a certain type of year.
“But when you step in here [tournament]I don’t feel tired. I’m really excited to play. Yeah, I don’t feel anything. I’m just ready to go. Even today I felt ready to go. I’m excited.”
Gauff had previously said that the quick exit from Cincinnati had given her some good practice ahead of the tournament and she prevailed in her first-round win over Varvara Grachevaallowing her opponent to win just two games in the match. But Gauff struggled early on with her serve in her second-round match against Tatjana Maria in the scorching heat Wednesday night. Although she eventually won the match, she made seven double faults in the first set — and it was a sign of what was to come.
Gauff won the final 11 points of the opening set against the former world No. 3. Elina Svitolina in the third round before turning things around. She raised her game — improving her serve and the rest of her game — in the second and third sets and won. She spent time on the practice court working on her serve after her second and third round matches.
But she simply couldn’t find a way to win on Sunday. Navarro beat Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon 6-3, 6-3 in July and proved that result was no fluke.
Gauff, whose best major result of the year was a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, said she was unsure what the rest of the season would look like but was looking forward to having time for a practice block, her first since before the clay-court season began. She said she would consider working with a mechanics coach and seek input from others in the hope of addressing her serving struggles in the future.
“It’s just a mental hurdle that I have to get over,” she said. “But, yeah, I definitely want to look at other things because I don’t want to lose games like this anymore.”
So now, instead of Gauff, Navarro is the only American representative in the bottom half of the rankings.Jessica Pegulawho was on the other side of the draw, was the only American woman still in the competition and played her fourth-round match against Diana Schneider on Monday.)
It has been a breakthrough season for Navarro, 23, who started the year ranked No. 38 and is now expected to break into the top 10 for the first time after Sunday’s victory. She has had career-best appearances at all four Grand Slams this year, including the fourth round at the French Open and her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon earlier this summer.
The 2021 NCAA singles champion in Virginia, Navarro won her first WTA title in Hobart in January and was part of her first Olympic team in Paris. During her rise, she has impressed many in the tennis world, including Williams, the 23-time major champion, who was in attendance for Sunday’s match.
“I like the versatility of Emma’s game,” Williams said on the broadcast. “I’ve never been a versatile player, so whenever I see someone like her who slices but also has a lot of topspin on her forehand, I really admire that because that’s something I’ve never really done. She can get in, she has great hands, and she does everything so well. She sees the court, she has a really high tennis IQ, and I like that.”
Navarro will continue to lead an uprising Paula Badosa on Tuesday as both look to meet for the first major semifinal of their careers. Badosa, who has been sidelined for much of the 2023 season with a back injury, beat Navarro in their only previous meeting, but knows doing so again will be a challenge.
“She is very, very talented,” Badosa said on Sunday. “We had a very big fight in Rome as well. [in May]. It’s clay. It’s different. But she’s playing very well. She’s had a very good summer, playing good matches. Also, I’m expecting a tough match there. Maybe I’ll have to be more aggressive than her, and we’ll see how it goes on Tuesday.”
Navarro later called Badosa “a fantastic player” and praised her serve and strokeplay. She told reporters she hoped her experience at Ashe would help her on Sunday when the stakes got even higher. Asked at the press conference when she first started to believe she had a chance to win a Grand Slam, Navarro said she still couldn’t quite believe she was talking about that possibility right now, calling it “pretty crazy.”
But on court, just minutes into the match, Navarro appeared more certain about someone else’s future chances of winning the US Open: Gauff.
When asked about reaching the quarterfinals, Navarro first agreed with Gauff about her future at the tournament.
“Coco is a great player and I have a lot of respect for her,” Navarro said on the court after the match. “I know she will come back here and win again next year.”
