Gauff blasts broadcasters over privacy after Australian Open racket smash

Coco Gauff, who lost to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was filmed smashing her racket.Published On 27 Jan 2026Coco Gauff looked for a place without cameras to channel her frustration after a straight-sets loss to Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarterfinals, but was unhappy to find out that a video of her smashing her tennis racket ⁠on the floor was broadcast to viewers worldwide.Twice Grand Slam winner Gauff was visibly upset ​with her performance on Tuesday, as she committed 26 unforced errors and ‍lost the match 6-1 6-2 in 59 minutes.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘Stay away from the USA’: Fans urged to boycott FIFA World Cup over Trumplist 2 of 4Milan mayor blasts ICE as ‘militia that kills’ before Winter Olympics rolelist 3 of 4‘Sad day for cricket’: ICC slammed for Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup ousterlist 4 of 4‘I didn’t set out to break records’: Pakistan’s first female MMA fighterend of listThe American third seed went behind a wall near the match call area inside the venue, where a camera caught her hitting the racket repeatedly against the floor.“I ‍tried to go ⁠somewhere where there were no cameras,” the 21-year-old told reporters.“I kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments – the same thing happened to Aryna [Sabalenka] after I played her in the final of the US Open – I feel like they don’t need to broadcast.”World number one Sabalenka, who will take on Svitolina in the semifinals, had smashed her racket in a training area after ​losing to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final, and video ‌of the incident was also made public.“I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private ‌place we have is the locker room,” Gauff added.“I think for me, I know myself, and I don’t want to lash out ‌on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve ⁠that, and I know I’m emotional,” Gauff said.“I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Like I said, I don’t try to do it on court in front of ‌kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion.