Coco Gauff made a winning start to her campaign at the 2026 Australian Open, breezing past Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 6-3 in the first round on Monday, January 19. Gauff dominated the match from the outset, with a decent first-serve percentage (63%), and despite committing seven double faults, she won 73% of her first serves.
The 21-year-old didn’t allow her opponent to settle in the match, breaking her serve six times in 14 attempts, winning 74 total points, and hitting 20 winners to make it a one-way onslaught.
Although Gauff hit 31 unforced errors, Rakhimova couldn’t take advantage in the little pockets of the game where the American might have looked slightly underwhelmed, and ultimately lost the match in straight sets.
After the win, Gauff joined ESPN’s Australian Open coverage, where she had a funny moment with former training partner and childhood friend Christopher Eubanks.
Eubanks tastefully referred to some of her shots from the match as ‘Coco Gauff shots,’ to which the 21-year-old burst out laughing, and they both shared a light moment in the studio.
“I need to get used to this somehow,” wrote Gauff in the comments section.
Coco Gauff Is Happy With Her 1R Win at the Australian Open
During the same interview, Gauff reflected on how her game improved as the match progressed.
“Yeah, definitely just getting better and better. Like you said, first rounds are never easy. So I feel like I always have to work myself into the match. And yeah, I think once I got through that second or the first hold, I felt pretty free after that,” said Gauff.
Next, the World No. 3 reacted to Eubanks’ praise for her shot selection and game-reading ability during a match.
“I feel like early in the match, it’s important for me to put the pressure on and make them [opponent] feel like the court is as small as possible because then when it’s five all or whatever, they’re going to remember those skits in the beginning and know that I’m there,” she added.
Gauff will be in action next when she faces Olga Danilovic in the second round at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
Also read:
Coco Gauff Spills Secret Strategy She Used To Flip Iga Swiatek Rivalry On Its Head
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