Coco Gauff won’t get the chance to play for a third Grand Slam title this weekend, and in the immediate aftermath of her US Open semifinal loss to Elena Rybakina, she wasn’t particularly interested in searching for silver linings.
“My dad came up. He was like, ‘You accomplished so many great things this summer.’ I was like, ‘I don’t care about the summer,’” Gauff said with a laugh. “Right now, that’s where my head is at.”
The disappointment is understandable. Gauff came to New York determined to win the tournament again and fell just short in a tight three-set battle with Rybakina.
But when the sting subsides, there will be plenty for Gauff to take from this US Open.
A year ago her game was in dissaray and she had just blown up her team and committed to long-term renovation of her major power strokes. She departed in the fourth round in Flushing after a difficult loss to Naomi Osaka.
This time, Gauff committed herself to playing more aggressively, improving her serve and forehand and resisting the temptation to fall back on the extraordinary defense that has carried her through so many matches.
“I think I played almost every match on my terms,” Gauff said. “The worst match for me was maybe the quarterfinal where I fell back into some old habits, but in 24 hours I was able to switch that.”
It wasn’t a perfect tournament, nor the result she wanted. But it represented progress.
Gauff has now reached the semifinals at consecutive Grand Slams, with both ending in near misses. At 22, she is also reminding herself that there is still considerable room for her game to grow.
“I’m looking at the other women, other semifinalists. They’re older than me, like three, four years older than me,” she said. “I’m just trying to think of how much work I put into the year, how far I’ve come, and now I’m just excited to keep putting the work in.”
For now, the loss hurts. Eventually, Gauff will turn her attention to what comes next.
“It’s definitely a learning experience,” she said. “I hope to continue to keep putting myself in positions to hopefully win.”
Gauff leaves New York without the trophy she wanted, but it’s hard to argue that she isn’t better off than she was a year ago — and perhaps closer than it might seem to rising to the top again.
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