Australian Open: Gauff 'not completely crushed' by shock exit

Coco Gauff is keeping her spirits high despite her surprise loss to Paula Badosa at the Australian Open.

Gauff was seeded third at Melbourne Park and looked in sharp form heading into Tuesday's last-eight tie.

Yet 11th seed Badosa turned in a fantastic display to win 7-5 6-4 and reach her maiden grand slam semi-final.

It means Gauff's wait for a second major title rolls on, but the 20-year-old refused to be too harsh on herself.

She said: "Paula was playing great. You know, maybe some moments in the first set could have gone my way, could have been a different outcome in the first set.

"Yeah, I think it's just a lot more work to do. I'm obviously disappointed, but I'm not completely crushed. I'm looking forward to a lot."

"Emotional, I'm a bit emotional." @paulabadosa | #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/bF0xS38Hvo

— wta (@WTA) January 21, 2025

Gauff made six double faults to Badosa's two, while also making 41 unforced errors.

"I feel like I was making a lot [of mistakes], especially into the net," Gauff added.

"I think it was a little bit that the timing was a bit off. I think I was hitting some balls too far in front almost, maybe playing a little bit too far back.

"I felt like I was setting up a lot of the points well. There were a lot of errors.

"I have to be aggressive. I feel like that's when I'm playing my best. That's how I won most of the matches [over the] last few months, by playing aggressive.

"I think it's just being more comfortable with that. I'm making a shift in my game. I haven't always played that aggressively. I do have faith that it will be more of an instinct instead of a second guess."