Coco Gauff Admits Vulnerable Locker Room Moment After Naomi Osaka Defeat at US Open

It’s not often we can see the positives over the negatives, but that’s just what Coco Gauff will have to do. On Monday, facing two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka turned into a nightmare for the 21-year-old as she suffered a tough defeat at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The American showed improvement in her earlier matches, but against Naomi? She was no match. However, she isn’t backing down now!

Osaka’s victory was decisive, 6-3, 6-2. Bringing Tomasz Wiktorowski onboard, her game displayed a more measured approach to her powerful baseline play, and it paid off against the 2023 champion. But Gauff has introduced a new face to her own team, and she’s choosing to focus on the positives after the loss!

During her post-match press conference, Coco Gauff shared, “I think that, trying to be more positive. I mean, after the match, I was really disappointed, kind of broke down to my team, and then hearing their perspectives and everything. It definitely is a lot of positive things if I think I kept the way I was going in Cincinnati to here, I would have been out the first round. And so I think that where my serve started from the start of the tournament to today was a big improvement, and I feel like, now I just have to get everything to work together.” Isn’t that heartwarming?

Previously, she worked with Matt Daly as her coach. Brought on ahead of the Asian swing last year, Gauff improved significantly with him, winning the China Open, the WTA Finals, and the 2025 French Open. However, since Paris, she struggled with her serve and brought on Gavin MacMillan to help.

While she may not have won the match against Naomi, Gauff faced 20 unforced errors. But her double faults were notably fewer! Just five double faults—when, as she pointed out at the Cincinnati Open, she had made 23. So the progress is definitely there! As she said, “I’m trying to be positive in front of you guys. I promise you that.. I don’t feel that way right now, but I am not going to let this crush me.”

For the past two months, Coco has been struggling with her form on the court. After her French Open triumph, she faced a brutal loss at Wimbledon, exiting in the first round against Dayana Yastremska. At the time, she didn’t want to dwell on the loss, and she didn’t.

The American then suffered a few early exits in Washington, Montreal, and Cincinnati, before finally bringing in MacMillan. And she’s stayed positive about her chances with him, although it wasn’t an easy move.

Coco Gauff speaks about her new coaching team

Ahead of her US Open run, news of Gauff’s coaching change sent shockwaves through the tennis world. She’d found success with Daly, but mounting unforced errors suggested it was time for something new. Earlier last month, tennis pundits and former pros like Rennae Stubbs openly questioned her first serve, even saying on her podcast, “I don’t understand why now she has literally two coaches. Nothing has changed on her serve…like the ball toss is so far ahead of her on the second serve.”

Enter biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, credited for revitalizing Aryna Sabalenka’s serve. Suddenly, hope was in the air, but it wasn’t an easy decision. At her pre-tournament press conference, Coco Gauff admitted, “Honestly, really tough. Honestly [it’s] mentally exhausting. But I’m trying. I mean, it wasn’t the best today, but… it came in when it mattered. But you know, it’s an improvement from last week (in Cincinnati). And I think, you know, I’m just trying to improve with each match.”

She continued to be candid about her grind during the post-match press conference. “When I said that, I was referring more to the practice week, not the match. I mean, the match was, it is what it was. I’m so used to these long battles. But yeah, the practice week, it was tough, because I was spending a lot of time on court, literally serving until like, my shoulder was hurting. Yeah, it’s just tough.”

Now, Coco is slowly building momentum once more. The US Open chapter may be closed for her, but the season rolls on! Will she come back fighting for the Asian Swing? Drop your thoughts below and be sure to follow the latest Grand Slam updates on our Live Blog!