Coco Gauff found herself in the spotlight after tennis great Jamie Murray (5x mixed doubles + 2x men’s doubles champion at the majors) issued a public apology ahead of her AO QF against Elina Svitolina. But why did he apologize to Gauff? Well, the elder brother of Andy Murray for overlooking the current world number 3 while naming the title contenders at the 2026 AO.

Gauff continued her impressive run at the AO with a hard-fought three-set victory over Karolina Muchova in the fourth round. She started her campaign in Melbourne with two straight-set victories in the first two rounds. But in the next two, Gauff showcased her resilience by defeating Hailey Baptiste and Muchova in three-set thrillers. She has looked every bit like a serious contender. However, surprisingly, during his analysis on TNT Sports, Murray highlighted Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina as frontrunners but failed to mention Gauff, prompting a reaction from fans and fellow analysts.

Later in the broadcast, TNT host Laura Robson reminded Jamie Murray of the omission, leading him to issue an on-air apology. “I did forget Coco Gauff, yeah, I did forget her. I apologize, Coco. Svitolina played an amazing match the other night against [Mirra] Andreeva. It’ll be interesting to see if she can bring that performance to the court again.” This will be Gauff’s fourth meeting with the Ukrainian, and guess what? The American currently has a 2-1 lead against Svitolina.

Further analyzing this QF duel, he added, “Coco, we know, is such a great competitor. Such a good mover around there. Obviously bigger game, bigger serve than Svitolina, has that option to get cheaper points. It will be an interesting match. I guess Coco will start as the favorite, but Svitolina is very experienced and is playing some good ball.”

This will be Coco Gauff‘s third consecutive QF appearance at the AO. Although she reached the SF here in 2024, Gauff lost that match to Aryna Sabalenka. Now, she is also the youngest American woman to reach three or more consecutive singles QFs at the AO since Mary Joe Fernandez from 1990 to 1993.

With the momentum on her side and renewed attention following Murray’s comments, the 2x Grand Slam champion heads into her Australian Open QF under the spotlight, ready to prove she belongs among the tournament’s true title favorites.

Coco Gauff shares her thoughts after making it to the second week of Slams once again

Coco Gauff recently opened up about her love for the second week of Grand Slams as she prepares for a blockbuster AO QF against the world number 12, Elina Svitolina. In a recent interview, Gauff reflected on the experience, admitting that the latter stages of majors bring out the best competition and the most excitement.

“I think it’s more fun. I feel like with each match, you start to relax a little bit more. But also, as you keep going, usually the ranking of the opponent gets higher, so the matches should be a bit tougher, which they have been.” She also emphasized how Grand Slams differ from regular tour events, noting that players elevate their game when the stakes are highest.

Top Stories

Iga Swiatek Denied Entry at Australian Open For the Same Reason as Roger Federer

Who Is Learner Tien’s Coach? Michael Chang’s Net Worth, Wife, Parents, & Contract

Who are Learner Tien’s Parents, Khuong and Huyen? Everything to Know About the American Star’s Family Background

Amanda Anisimova Breaks Silence After Controversial Exchange Sparks Backlash: “It’s Tough”

Jannik Sinner Speaks Out After Breaking Same Rule As Carlos Alcaraz at Australian Open

“Grand Slams is where everyone kind of tries to peak at. So you expect to play the peak version of every player. I think it’s just a fun challenge.” Standing in her way is someone who recently also gave a gentle reminder about how tough this QF match is going to be.

Elina Svitolina highlighted that the match won’t just be about tactics but also the harsh Melbourne conditions. As per reports, the temperatures may exceed 40°C during the QF matches. So, according to Svitolina, “We’ll not only be playing against each other but also against the conditions.”

But when it came to sharing thoughts about her preparations for this match against Coco Gauff, the Ukrainian said that she’ll have to speak with her coach about the plan. She admitted they had some really tough battles in the past. Two of their matches among three have gone to three sets. They know each other’s game very well. So, this will really be an interesting contest to watch out for.