New York, September 11 (Daily Kiran) : Coco Gauff, the rising star of American tennis, faced a disappointing end to her dream of winning the 2026 US Open. Despite taking the first set in her semifinal match against Elena Rybakina, Gauff ultimately lost in a hard-fought battle that ended 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.
After the match, Gauff appeared visibly upset. She acknowledged that the defeat was painful but emphasized her commitment to learning from the experience. The third-seeded player lost her lead at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the two-hour, eight-minute contest proved to be a challenging ordeal.
In her post-match comments, Gauff expressed her sorrow over the loss. She recounted how her father tried to console her by highlighting her achievements during the summer season. However, in that moment of disappointment, Gauff replied, “I don’t care about that right now. My focus is solely on this loss.” She admitted that the missed opportunity to win the US Open weighed heavily on her.
Despite the setback, Gauff took pride in her overall performance and recent progress. She recognized that such defeats are not easy to forget, especially when victory felt so close. “However, that’s the goal. I want to be a player who performs consistently well and gives myself as many chances as possible to lift the trophy. But it hurts. Everything is good, but my competitive spirit tells me that this is the tournament where I want to excel,” she said.
At just 21 years old, Gauff is determined to learn from this experience and is optimistic about putting herself in similar situations in the future. “This is a learning experience, and I hope to continue putting myself in these positions to win,” she reflected. Looking back on her journey in New York, Gauff noted that despite a challenging quarterfinal, she managed to play the tennis she aimed for.
“I feel like I played almost every match on my terms. My worst match was probably the quarterfinal, where I fell back into old habits. But within 24 hours, I was able to change that, which gives me confidence for the future,” she explained.
Gauff also found motivation in the fact that she still has time to improve her game and pursue greater titles. “I see other players who reached the semifinals, and they are three or four years older than me. I think about how hard I’ve worked this year and how far I’ve come,” she noted.
She added, “I’m excited to work hard over the next year or two and see where I am at 24 or 25. I want to see where my game can take me, and hopefully, wins in matches like this will be mine.” Gauff started strong, breaking Rybakina’s serve in the sixth game of the first set to take it 6-3. However, the momentum shifted as Rybakina broke Gauff’s serve in the fourth game of the second set, taking a 4-1 lead.
Gauff fought back to level the score at 4-4, but Rybakina regained control, breaking serve again in the tenth game to push the match to a decisive third set. The final set was tightly contested, with Rybakina breaking serve in the eighth game to lead 5-3. Gauff remained resilient, earning her first break point of the set and leveling the score with a spectacular backhand passing shot. Yet, Rybakina responded quickly, breaking serve again in the tenth game to secure the match.
In the finals, Rybakina will face Aryna Sabalenka.
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