Coco Gauff has expressed her frustration at failing to translate her work in practice onto the match court after her disappointing exit at the 2026 Qatar Open.
The two-time Grand Slam champion was stunned 6-4, 6-2 by world No 57 Elisabetta Cocciaretto in her opening match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha on Tuesday.
Gauff landed just 14 winners to 39 unforced errors, while her serve was broken by her 25-year-old Italian opponent on four occasions.
The world No 5, who received an opening round bye as a top eight seed in Qatar, was playing her first match since losing 6-1, 6-2 to Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarter-finals in just 59 minutes.
Following her loss to Cocciaretto, Gauff spoke candidly about her level in her recent defeats.
“I just feel like I haven’t showed up with my best level the last few matches,” said the American. “I’m just looking to find that again.
“I just feel like some of the things I’ve been working on in practice aren’t translating to the match court, which is super frustrating.
WTA Tour News
Worrying Coco Gauff stat revealed as nightmare Qatar Open streak continues with latest defeat
WTA Rankings: Iga Swiatek & Elena Rybakina battle for world No 2 at Qatar Open
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
“I’ve been having good practices, but just not playing well in the matches. I just need to find how it can translate.
“I tried to be more aggressive and was hitting more unforced errors. When I tried to be a little more passive and play with more shape, she was taking the ball early and crushing the ball.
“I think I need to figure out how to play against players like her, who hit super flat and take everything early.
“I think the last two matches showed I’ve been struggling with that. That’s something I need to work on in practice.”
The 21-year-old went on to highlight the fact that her serve has not been her biggest problem this year.
“Today, with only three double faults, that’s positive, and same with the matches I had in Australia,” Gauff assessed.
“I think there weren’t many double faults there, as well. That’s the one positive. Now I need to figure out what I’m doing off the ground to lose these matches.
“Physically, I know I can do it and I can do it when there’s not much pressure. I need to figure out how to do it when there’s more pressure.”
What next for Coco Gauff?
Gauff will next compete at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, which will begin on 15 February.
READ NEXT: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova give their opinions on playing best-of-five sets
The post Coco Gauff candidly speaks out about her struggles after early Qatar Open exit appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply