Coco Gauff’s body language has been critiqued by commentators after she scraped through her third-round match at the Italian Open, recovering from a double-break deficit in the deciding set to avoid a surprise defeat.
The American looked on the verge of being stunned by world No 72 Solana Sierra on Saturday, before battling back to claim a 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory and secure her place in the next round in Rome.
Gauff was broken three times in a topsy-turvy opening set, struggling to find rhythm on serve and looking increasingly frustrated with her level.
However, the world No 4 responded emphatically in the second set, completely overwhelming Sierra to level the contest in dominant fashion.
Despite that momentum swing, the deciding set quickly became complicated once again for the American, who fell 3-0 behind after being broken twice.
Sierra appeared firmly in control and on course for one of the biggest wins of her career, but nerves began to creep in as Gauff raised her intensity at the crunch moments.
The Argentinian was, ultimately, unable to capitalise on her double-break lead, with Gauff storming back to win six of the final seven games in a dramatic turnaround.
Throughout the contest, the defending French Open champion showed visible signs of frustration and was even seen hitting her racket against her head between points as she attempted to regain composure.
“It’s not something that I want to do again or make a habit,” commented Gauff during a segment on the Tennis Channel.
“I think you go through things off court, and then you go and you try things on the court, amplify everything and I didn’t want to through my racket so I took it out on myself.
“Maybe it’s better on the ground than myself.”
Latest Tennis News
Rafael Jodar reveals key mindset helping him thrive during breakout ATP Tour season
Alexander Zverev finds new tactic to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
“Even though Gauff is starting to play better, she still looks quite unhappy with herself, regardless of winning the second set 6-0 and winning four games in a row in this final set,” commentator and British tennis player Eden Silva commented during the decider.
“In no means is she going to be happy with her performance, or maybe her body language in that match.
“Today, it looked like she didn’t want to lose more than she wanted to win, that was sort of what she was behaving like on court, and you could see it was so visual.
“But we’ve said so often, they don’t put how you’ve won next to your name; it’s just a win. So she lives to fight another day.”
Mark Valledy, fellow commentator replied: “I think you hit the nail on the head, that’s what it is, I think she’s unhappy with her level. Such a perfectionist, you imagine, to reach this sort of standard. The manner in which that first set got away from her, she never really got over it. If she gets through this match, there will be a big debrief after this.”
The American has endured a mixed 2026 campaign so far. While she reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the final of the Miami Open, inconsistency has continued to affect her results at several major tournaments.
She suffered earlier-than-expected exits in Qatar, Indian Wells, and Madrid, with questions occasionally raised over her serve and confidence during tighter moments in matches.
Gauff will next play the winner of the match between 16th seed Iva Jovic and Taylor Townsend.
The post Commentators call out ‘unhappy’ Coco Gauff’s body language during tense Italian Open comeback appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply