Coco Gauff Makes Hilarious ‘AI’ Admission About Private ‘Rage Room’ After Australian Open Racket Smash Controversy

World No.4 Coco Gauff will be chasing her first title of the season at Indian Wells, where she has so far played one semifinal.

Coco Gauff Makes Hilarious ‘AI’ Admission About Private ‘Rage Room’ After Australian Open Racket Smash Controversy

Coco Gauff (Image via X/Quindici Zero)

Coco Gauff disapproved of the presence of behind-the-scenes cameras almost everywhere at Melbourne Park, which led to the broadcast of her private moment. Gauff, instead of erupting controversy by destroying her racket in front of the fans, chose a quiet spot on her way to the locker room to obliterate her racket following her lopsided performance in the Australian Open quarterfinal against Elina Svitolina.

Gauff was oblivious to the cameras capturing her smashing the racket. Before she knew what happened, the clip had already become viral. At the press conference afterward, the 21-year-old censured the Australian Open for not providing more off-camera spaces. Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek also shared similar opinions.

The controversy led to the development of a rage room at the ATX Open. In the camera-free rage room, the players have the full freedom to express their frustrations.

Gauff did not feature at the ATX Open. And when the tournament introduced the rage room, Gauff thought it was just AI, revealing in the pre-tournament press conference what her initial reaction was about the rage room.

Was that real? I thought it was AI… My mom sent it to me, and I told her it was AI. She believes in a lot of AI stuff. I’m sure they were inspired by me (smiles). I’ll just take it in stride. I’m not someone who smashes rackets like that very often, but when it happens, it happens, so I guess I’d probably use it. It’s not something I really plan, but I definitely try not to do it in front of the cameras or on the court. So, yeah, if I felt like I needed to let off some steam, I’d definitely go to the anger room.

At Indian Wells, Gauff will be aiming to reach the final for the first time. She has so far reached just one semifinal, in 2024, losing to eventual runner-up Maria Sakkari. Last year, she lost to Belinda Bencic in the fourth round.

Coco Gauff on the possibility of playing best-of-five in Grand Slam events

Craig Tiley, before announcing his resignation from his position as the Australian Open director, expressed his wish to make the WTA aces play best-of-five from the quarterfinal onward. His idea received mixed reactions, particularly from the players, who think the format will be hard on a woman’s body. Coco Gauff has now given her reaction to the possibility of playing five sets in the Majors.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (Image via X/Game, Set & Talk)

It would probably benefit me, because physically I’m among the best, but I wouldn’t want that to happen. And if it had to happen, I’d prefer it to be throughout the entire tournament, not just in the quarterfinals. I think changing the format mid-tournament goes against the purpose of a level playing field. Yes, I think it would be a lot for the players, and also for the fans and television. Imagine, sometimes five-set matches last until the 7:00 pm session. If we all played five sets, I don’t even think we could finish in two weeks, to be honest.

Gauff has yet to win a title since clinching her third WTA 1000 title at the 2025 Wuhan Open. Prior to arriving in Indian Wells, Gauff lost to eventual runner-up Elina Svitolina in the semifinal of the Dubai Tennis Championships. At the Qatar Open, she suffered an opening-round exit.

Last year in WTA 1000 events, apart from the Wuhan Open, the two-time Grand Slam singles champion clinched the French Open by defeating Aryna Sabalenka. She also made the finals of the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, losing both to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini, respectively.

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