Coco Gauff: “I haven’t showed up” in recent matches, talks mental block in Doha

DOHA, Qatar—Coco Gauff was largely in good spirits despite a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Elisabetta Cocciaretto at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Tuesday, the No. 4 seed going 0-2 since reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals last month.

🖥📲 ️Match in 15 Minutes: Cocciaretto def. Gauff, Doha 2R

“I just feel like I haven’t showed up with my best level the last few matches,” Gauff said to open her post-match mixed zone. “I’m just looking to find that again.”

The reigning Roland Garros champion enjoyed a bright start to the 2026 season, defeating Iga Swiatek at the United Cup in January, but suffered a stunning defeat in Melbourne to Elina Svitolina and, after a Monday night defeat in doubles alongside Victoria Mboko, appeared equally out of sorts against Cocciaretto following a first-round bye.

“I just feel like some of the things I’ve been working on in practice aren’t translating to the match court, which is super frustrating,” said Gauff. “I’ve been having good practices, but just not playing well in the matches. I just need to find how it can translate.”

After losing in qualifying, Cocciaretto made the most of her second chance at the main draw, scoring a third career Top 10 victory—and her first win over Gauff since the two played juniors in 2018.

“I tried to be more aggressive and was hitting more unforced errors,” the American explained. “When I tried to be a little more passive and play with more shape, she was taking the ball early and crushing the ball.

“I think I need to figure out how to play against players like her, who hit super flat and take everything early. I think the last two matches showed I’ve been struggling with that. That’s something I need to work on in practice.”

The 21-year-old took some consolation in the fact that the Middle East has proved an annual challenge, having also endured early defeats in Doha and Dubai last year, and gave herself high marks on her improved serve.

“Today, with only three double faults, that’s positive, and same with the matches I had in Australia,” Gauff said. “I think there weren’t many double faults there, as well. That’s the one positive. Now I need to figure out what I’m doing off the ground to lose these matches.”

Gauff has long proven capable of resetting after bad days on the court, but confessed to a sort of mental block when it came to employing her strong practices to the match court.

“Physically, I know I can do it and I can do it when there’s not much pressure. I need to figure out how to do it when there’s more pressure.”

Gauff will next head to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she reached the semifinals back in 2023.