Coco Gauff survived a major scare at the 2026 Italian Open, pulling off a gritty comeback to stay alive in the tournament. The American also sparked concern after a few visibly frustrated moments during the match.
Coming into Rome after a fourth-round exit in Madrid, Gauff began her campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Tereza Valentova. The third seed then faced Solana Sierra in the third round on Saturday, May 9. She lost the opening set 5-7 and looked under pressure, but responded emphatically by storming through the next two sets 6-0, 6-4 to secure her place in the next round.
Despite the comeback, the match featured a worrying moment as Coco Gauff, visibly frustrated, hit her head twice with her racket and also struck herself with her hand. Fans quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their concern and shock over the American’s actions, with one user writing:
“After we saw Coco Gauff annihilate her tennis racket at the Australian Open, we today see her hitting her head with the racket. Does Coco Gauff have anger issues? Wish her well.”
“OMG! If it would be Andreeva, the whole tennis establishment would discuss for days how she can’t manage her negative emotions,” another wrote.
“Kind of wild to see Coco slapping herself like crazy over misses and such. She’s played way worse tennis on plenty of occasions and kept it together to win. Don’t understand why she’s been mentally imploding since essentially the start of the match,” one user posted.
One fan tweeted:
“The one thing worse than playing badly is abusing yourself on court and crashing out hard. No body wants to watch that. Coco get help.”
“As one of her biggest fans, it really is tough watching Coco’s matches and seeing how negative she is on court. I’m really hoping she can find some joy in the game again and try and show up better in these matches,” another commented.
“I lean more towards depression. She never seems happy or excited, win or lose,” another joined in.
Coco Gauff Set To Take On Iva Jovic Or Taylor Townsend In Italian Open 4R
Coco Gauff has advanced to the fourth round of the 2026 Italian Open after a hard-fought win over Solana Sierra. She will now face either Iva Jovic or Taylor Townsend, depending on who comes out on top.
Gauff has only faced Townsend once in her career, a loss in Charleston back in 2019, while she has never played Jovic on tour. If she progresses further, a quarterfinal clash with Mirra Andreeva could be on the cards, followed by a potential semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka. Should the two-time Grand Slam champion make it to the final, she could meet either Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula.
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