Gauff 'disappointed, not crushed' by Melbourne quarter-final loss

Coco Gauff said she was "disappointed but not completely crushed" after her strong start to the year came to an end in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.

The world No. 3 saw her hopes for a first Melbourne Park title dashed in a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Spain's 11th seed Paula Badosa on Rod Laver Arena.

Gauff’s nine-match winning streak to begin 2025 was snapped by Badosa, who dominated after a tight first set.

The 20-year-old American, appearing in her ninth Grand Slam quarterfinal, said she felt more mature and would not beat herself up over the loss as she might have earlier in her career.

"The way I played, even though it wasn't my best, I gave it my all on the court, so that's something to be proud of," said Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion. "Some matches are going to go my way, some are not. Maybe a couple of years ago, I would feel a lot more crushed, like the world is ending. But now I think it's just disappointment that I could have done a little bit better in some areas."

Gauff compared the loss to her last Grand Slam defeat, a third-round loss to Emma Navarro at the US Open last year.

"I feel like at the US Open I was playing with no solution, so I think that was more the frustrating part," Gauff said, citing six double faults and 41 unforced errors on Tuesday.

"Today I feel like I'm playing with solutions. I know what I need to work on. Even though I lost today, I feel like I'm on an upward trajectory," she noted.

"Obviously, it does feel bad when you feel like you're playing great tennis for the better part of this year to lose, but it is what it is. We'll get back to work."