Coco Gauff Smashes Her Head with Racket During Italian Open Final Heartbreak

On Saturday (May 16), Elina Svitolina overcame a set deficit to defeat Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-2 in the final of the Italian Open, stopping her from ending her title drought. This is the second time in a row that the American ace lost the final in Rome.

Gauff served seven double faults during the match. The 22-year-old double-faulted while trailing 5-4 and lost the set. Greatly frustrated with her mistake, Gauff hit herself hard on the head with her racket before she flung her racket while heading toward her bench.

Watch the video here:

Coco Gauff hits herself hard in the head with the tennis racket after double faulting to lose the set 😳 pic.twitter.com/F1Kp6a8I0n

— TENNISCentel (@TennisCentel) May 16, 2026

This was not the first time Gauff smashed her head with the racket in the tournament. During her third-round match against Solana Sierra, Gauff came from a set down to win the match.

But at the end of the first set, she took her frustrations out on herself by hitting her head twice with her racket. Later at the press conference, the two-time Grand Slam singles champion admitted to dealing with “personal things off court” and also tried to remember why she loved to play.

Also, after her defeat to Svitolina in the quarterfinal of this year’s Australian Open, Gauff smashed her racket on her way to the locker room and destroyed it. She wanted to break it away from everyone’s sight, but was caught on camera, and this sparked concerns about players’ privacy.

Last year in Rome, Gauff lost the title to home favorite Jasmine Paolini. Svitolina now holds a 4-2 head-to-head lead over Gauff, also registering her third consecutive win over her this year. Before the Rome final, they met in the semifinals in Dubai.

Coco Gauff’s assessment of her performance in Rome

Coco Gauff has now played two finals this year. She made the Miami Open title clash for the first time but failed to go past World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka. At the press conference after her defeat to Elina Svitolina, Gauff analyzed her performance in the tournament.

Obviously, I had a couple of tough early rounds, so I’m happy to be in the final. Now it’s almost immediately disappointing because I remember last year in the final, I was tired from the semifinal. This year, I felt like I started playing, and then every time I had a chance, I played bad. For me, it’s more of a mental thing that I have to learn from. I don’t think it’s a block. I think today is one of those matches where you give yourself so many break opportunities, and you just don’t convert them.

For Gauff, it was her seventh WTA 1000 final. She has yet to win a title since the 2025 Wuhan Open.

No, I wasn’t surprised. I already faced her in Dubai and at the Australian Open. I knew what to expect. She played almost the same. It’s up to me to figure out how to improve against her.

Coco Gauff added

But Svitolina is now a five-time WTA 1000 champion. She is also a three-time champion in the Italian capital. Prior to this year, the 31-year-old clinched the title in the tournament back in 2017 and 2018 by defeating Simona Halep both times.

Svitolina has now played three finals this year. After her win over Wang Xinyu in the ASB Classic, Svitolina lost the Dubai Tennis Championships to Jessica Pegula before she beat Gauff in Rome. Next is the Roland Garros, where Svitolina has yet to progress beyond the quarterfinals. But Gauff will be entering the tournament as the defending champion. Last year, she defeated Sabalenka to win her second Major singles title.

Also read: Daniil Medvedev Keeps it Real on Potentially Playing like a Top-3 Player After Italian Open Loss