Tennis fans are eating well due to a fantastic Australian Open. But what happened at the Rod Laver Arena following Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina’s match left a lot of people completely stunned.

Why? Well, the American took out her frustration over her racket and smashed it multiple times on the ground. While she was discreet, walking calmly behind a wall to let loose her frustrations, cameras captured what was supposed to be a private moment.

Following the incident, Serena Williams offered a few words to her fellow American tennis sensation, saying, “Well said. @alexisohanian. Passion. Caring. Matters. Nothing wrong with hating to lose. Now Coco when you want I can show you how to demolish in one swipe… Serena style 🙊 🤷🏾‍♀️”

Even a legend like Williams has also had her fair share of broken rackets in her career.  One of her popular incidents came at the 2013 Australian Open against Sloane Stephens. And this social media message came after Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, sent out his own form of support message.

“NGL I love this energy and emotion from @CocoGauff — we love sports because it’s raw, because these athletes put their ALL into the battle and sometimes (like life) you don’t win. Media are gonna spin this private moment for a headline to get some clicks, but Coco did nothing wrong here,” he wrote to Gauff on X.

Well, returning to the Australian Open, no one expected Gauff to exit in the quarterfinal. But 26 unforced errors and five double faults meant Elina Svitolina needed only 59-minute to dismantle her 1-6, 2-6.

It was a shocking result and the American didn’t hesitate to discuss the frustrations that led to the racket smashing incident, during her post-match press conference.

“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,” she said.

Gauff never wanted this outrage to be shown in public. However, it was caught by one of the Australian Open’s many interior cameras. And this defeat actually affected her in the rankings.

Coco Gauff’s tough start to the 2026 season

Losing like this at the very first Grand Slam of a new tennis season is tough. And Coco Gauff has learned it the hard way following her defeat at the hands of a 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina.

While the American tennis star will take home A$750,000 (roughly US$518,550) for her run at the Melbourne Park, she has dropped one spot to No. 4 in the WTA Live Rankings. Indeed, she picked up 430 ranking points from this event and stands in fourth with 6,680 points.

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Taking over her was fellow American tennis star Amanda Anisimova, who also has no more matches left at the Australian Open, as she lost her own quarterfinal against Jessica Pegula.

While Gauff has a full season left, her fourth-place spot isn’t secured in the WTA Live Rankings, as Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are knocking at the door with just a few points behind her, and those two will be battling each other out in the semifinals.