As Coco Gauff navigates some increased attention following a recent episode of post-match frustration, she has at least one powerful ally in her corner.
After losing to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday, Gauff was unwittingly broadcast to all as she smashed her racket on the ground in anger. As she explained in her presser immediately after, she had retreated into the tunnels at Rod Laver Arena in hopes no one would see her execute said destruction—but alas, the understandable moment of humanity was caught on camera for all to see.
"Living and learning. But still will keep trying to move forward," Gauff later wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Also, I'm a real person with real feelings ... I care a lot & I'm trying my best. Thank you to those who understand that."
Well, among those who understand is tennis legend Serena Williams, who you'll recall has also smashed a racket or two in her day.
Echoing a similar sentiment shared by her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Williams defended Gauff's competitive spirit in a now-viral post online.
"Passion. Caring. Matters," Williams wrote Tuesday night. "Nothing wrong with hating to lose. Now Coco when you want I can show you how to demolish in one swipe ... Serena style."
Take a look at that below:
Well said. @alexisohanian Passion. Caring. Matters. Nothing wrong with hating to lose. Now Coco when you want I can show you how to demolish in one swipe… Serena style 🙊 🤷🏾♀️ https://t.co/OR96AHS8dS
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) January 28, 2026
It must feel pretty good to be defended by the GOAT of your sport, especially knowing that said GOAT also took some heat for racket-smashing back in the day. And to that end, Gauff did reply with a few "heart" emojis, plus some "laughing" emojis for good measure.
Other players, like Iga Świątek and Jessica Pegula, also defended Gauff's right to grieve a match in peace.
"The question is, are we tennis players or are we, like, animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop, you know?" Świątek said, per ESPN. "OK, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy. It would be nice also to, I don't know, have your own process and not always be, like, observed."
Added Pegula: "Coco wasn't wrong when she said the only place is the locker room. We're on the court on TV, you come inside, you're on TV. ... I think that's something we need to cut back on for sure."
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, agreed that camera access is too far-reaching, but emphasized he doesn't believe networks will cut back on it anytime soon.
"It's really sad that you can't basically move away anywhere and hide and—what do you call that—fume out your frustration, your anger in a way that won't be captured by a camera," he said. But "I guess it's really hard for me to see the trend changing in the opposite direction, meaning we take out cameras. If you see, it's only going to be as it is or even more cameras."
Athletes are competitors, first and foremost, so you simply cannot blame someone for losing their composure after a match. Gauff's only mistake—if you can call it that—in going somewhere "private" to let it out was thinking there wouldn't be a camera on her at all.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Serena Williams Defends Coco Gauff After Racket-Smashing Video.
