Coco Gauff Throws Up on Court During Tense Madrid Open Match Against Sorana Cirstea

Coco Gauff, who is chasing her second Big Title on clay in singles, will be meeting Linda Noskova next.

Coco Gauff Throws Up on Court During Tense Madrid Open Match Against Sorana Cirstea

Coco Gauff vomited mid-match during the Madrid Open (Image via Instagram/WTA, X/Tennis Channel)

In Short
  • Coco Gauff experienced a stomach virus during her match against Sorana Cirstea at the Madrid Open.
  • Despite feeling unwell, Gauff won the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, improving her head-to-head record against Cirstea to 3-0.
  • Gauff will face Linda Noskova in the fourth round, marking her third consecutive appearance at this stage in the Madrid Open.

In the ongoing Madrid Open, Coco Gauff battled two opponents inside Manolo Santana on Sunday (April 26). One was Sorana Cirstea, and the other was a stomach virus.

The virus has already affected several players in the tournament, including six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, also a former winner in Madrid, who left in tears after handing the walkover to Ann Li in the third round. Gauff, on the other hand, threw up in a bin and later called for a medical timeout during which the physios checked her vitals.

Watch the video here:

According to Tennis Channel’s Jim Courier, food poisoning could be the reason behind players’ withdrawal. Although there’s no official confirmation of what exactly caused the stomach virus, players who were affected have eaten shrimp tacos.

Despite the illness, Gauff did not want to throw in the towel like she did at Indian Wells. After recovering from a set deficit, the two-time Grand Slam singles champion clinched a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over the Romanian ace, improving her head-to-head record to a perfect 3-0.

Gauff has now won a match in three sets for the eighth time this year. She also won all her matches against Cirstea in three sets.

Gauff, the runner-up here last year, is chasing her first title of the season. The last time she won a trophy was at the 2025 Wuhan Open. Gauff has already played a final this season. She reached the title clash of the Miami Open for the first time but failed to beat World No.1 and Madrid Open defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Coco Gauff on why she did not pull out mid-match

Coco Gauff suffered an injury in her left arm during the Indian Wells third round, which forced her to give a walkover to Alexandra Eala. Gauff, who is known for her never-give-up attitude, did not want to retire mid-match this time as she dug deep to inch closer to her third clay-court title.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

I don’t know how I got through that. I felt fine all this morning. I felt a little weird last night, but I was okay. Woke up this morning, felt fine. And mid-first set, I was feeling like I was going to throw up. And then I did. They gave me some pills, and that definitely helped. After that, once I felt the feeling of throwing up, then I just felt nauseous and tired. I just didn’t want to throw up in the middle of the point, which I almost did at one point.

Coco Gauff told the media after the win

Gauff will be playing in the fourth round of the Madrid Open for the third consecutive time and will face Linda Noskova, who received the walkover from Liudmila Samsonova, who also withdrew due to a stomach virus.

When I actually threw up on the court, that was like a little bit embarrassing. Then, after that first game and the second, I was like that took everything out of me. I’m someone who doesn’t like to pull out (of matches). I don’t like to do that unless I really feel like I have no other options. So the plan was to always just try to finish, even if it ended up with me just playing just to get through it.

Coco Gauff added

Gauff has played two WTA 1000 finals on clay, in last year’s Madrid Open and the Italian Open, losing them to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini, respectively. Before playing in the Spanish capital, Gauff lost to eventual runner-up Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinal of the Stuttgart Open.

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