Coco Gauff's US Open defeat shows she has much work to do to return to Grand Slam glory

 Coco Gauff's US Open defeat shows she has much work to do to return to Grand Slam glory

 Coco Gauff's US Open defeat shows she has much work to do to return to Grand Slam glory

NEW YORK — When Coco Gauff referenced doubters and haters fueling her run to the U.S. Open title last year, it may have seemed a bit exaggerated. The reality of Gauff's career has never truly been about anonymous online criticism. Instead, she was hailed as a tennis prodigy from the age of 10, with top academies vying for her and sponsorship deals flooding in. For those deeply involved in tennis, Gauff winning a Grand Slam was always a question of when, not if.

However, Gauff's 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round of this year’s U.S. Open, ending her reign as champion, marks a pivotal moment in her career. For the first time, doubts about her trajectory might be justified.

"Obviously because I’m wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing," Gauff admitted on Sunday. "But I’m not going to beat myself up and be like, ‘Oh, this is so bad.’"

At just 20 years old, Gauff has a long career ahead of her, with ample opportunities to add more Grand Slam titles. Her mantra entering this U.S. Open was that no one could take away her past achievements, and she still has plenty of time to achieve even more. This perspective is both a clever and accurate way to alleviate some of the pressure she likely felt in returning to the site of her greatest victory.

But Gauff is no longer a newcomer. She's reached the latter stages of multiple Grand Slams, setting higher expectations for herself and prompting a deeper evaluation of her recent performance.

The reality is that while Gauff made it to the semifinals of both the Australian Open and French Open this year—impressive achievements—she holds a 7-12 record against top-30 players this season. Since her title win in Auckland at the beginning of the year, she hasn't reached another final. Despite having three top-10 wins in 2024, two of them were against the declining Ons Jabeur, who has since dropped to No. 22. As Gauff exits New York, she finds herself ranked outside the top five for the first time in a while.