Coco Gauff‘s 2025 US Open campaign ended in heartbreak after a fourth-round loss to Naomi Osaka. The 20-year-old admitted that the defeat left her emotionally drained and in tears after the match.
Osaka, a two-time US Open champion, delivered a commanding performance, beating Gauff 6-3, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows. After the match, Gauff spoke candidly about how difficult it was to process the result.
“After the match I was really disappointed,” she said. “Kind of broke down to my team. Then hearing their perspectives and everything, it definitely is a lot of positive things.”
While the loss stung, Gauff acknowledged the progress she made during the tournament – especially with her serve, which had been a concern in previous events.
“I think if I kept the way I was going in Cincinnati to here, I would have been out the first round,” she said. “So I think where my serve started from the start of the tournament to today was a big improvement.”
Emotional strain marks a tough US Open journey
Despite showing flashes of her potential earlier in the tournament – especially in her win over No. 28 seed Magdalena Frech – Gauff‘s time in New York was filled with emotional ups and downs.
In her second-round match against Donna Vekic, Gauff broke down in tears on court before rallying to win. That emotional intensity seemed to carry throughout the tournament, and by the time she faced Osaka, the toll may have caught up with her.
“For sure it was not the level that I wanted to bring, but it is a step in the right direction I feel,” Gauff said. “I think emotionally how much this week was, I think today I just stepped in, and I maybe was a little bit empty.”
Statistically, it was a tough day for the young American. She finished the match with 33 unforced errors, while Osaka committed just 12. Gauff admitted she had expected a tough challenge from the start, but her earlier performances had given her real belief.
“I knew going in it was going to be a tough tournament for me,” she said. “Did I feel like I had a lot of confidence after my last match? Yeah, definitely. I think that was a big confidence booster. So today feels more disappointing, I think, than maybe it would have felt losing in the first or second round.”
With the win, Osaka moves on to face Karolína Muchová in the quarterfinals. For Gauff, though the result was painful, she leaves the tournament with a sense of growth – and the knowledge that she pushed through one of her most emotionally demanding events to date.
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