Coco Gauff Could Not Find a Private Place to Smash Racket After Australian Open Exit

Gauff's run ended in the quarterfinals at the hands of Elina Svitolina.

Coco Gauff was eliminated from the Australian Open on Tuesday. | TNT Sports

Coco Gauff's run at the Australian Open ended in the quarterfinals on Tuesday as she bowed out against Elina Svitolina in straight sets. The American, who was seeded third entering the tournament and had aspirations of capturing her third major, took out her frustrations on a racket after exiting the court, hoping that she'd found somewhere private to show that emotion not monitored by cameras.

But there are precious few pieces of real estate at Rod Laver Arena that offer that type of shield, so Gauff's racket-smashing was captured and then dutifully broadcast.

Coco Gauff releases her frustrations after a disappointing defeat in the Australian Open quarter-finals 💥 pic.twitter.com/4Ur9jlxR0P

— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 27, 2026

During her post-match press conference, Gauff explained what happened and how not everything needs to be shown.

“Certain moments—the same thing happened to Aryna (Sabalenka) after I played her in the final of the U.S. Open—I feel like they don’t need to broadcast,” Gauff said. “I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera because I don’t necessarily like breaking rackets."

While that's an understandable frustration, the fact that there are cameras pretty much everywhere except the locker rooms should not be a major surprise—for Gauff or really anyone. And lamenting a lack of privacy is not going to scale back the 360-degree coverage that rights partners bring.

---