Key Takeaways
- Coco Gauff revealed her father reminded her that “you have accomplished so many things this summer” following her defeat, to which she replied: “I don’t care about the summer.”
- The American stressed her ambition to remain a consistent contender, adding: “I want to give myself as many opportunities as I can to lift the trophy.”
- Elena Rybakina claimed the semi-final win by narrow margins, securing just six more total points than Gauff in the match.
Coco Gauff balances disappointment with long-term perspective after semi-final defeat
Coco Gauff experienced a difficult conclusion to her Grand Slam campaign in New York, exiting the US Open in a tight semi-final encounter against Elena Rybakina. The defeat arrived at the end of an impressive stretch on hard courts that included securing the tournament title in Cincinnati once again.
Facing the new world number one, Gauff came out on the wrong side of razor-thin margins. While the broader season highlighted significant progress, the immediate sting of dropping a Grand Slam semi-final dominated the American’s feelings in the aftermath.
What Coco Gauff’s father told her after the defeat
In her post-match press conference, Gauff recounted the encouraging words she received from her father immediately following the match against Rybakina, as well as her immediate reaction to them.
“I mean, right now it sucks. My Dad came up and said, ‘You have accomplished so many things this summer,’ and I just said, ‘I don’t care about the summer’. Right now that is where my head is at,” Gauff admitted.
Despite the frustration, the American highlighted her desire to keep putting herself in contention deep into major tournaments: “But it is the goal. I want to be a consistent player, and I want to give myself as many opportunities as I can to lift the trophy.”
“But it hurts. It’s all great, but I think the competitor in me is like, this is the tournament that I want to perform at. I did perform, but it’s the tournament you want to come out with the win,” she explained, before adding: “It’s a learning experience, and I hope to keep putting myself in positions to hopefully win.”
Looking ahead to future progress
Reviewing her run in Flushing Meadows, Gauff expressed satisfaction with how she dictated play, apart from a brief dip in the previous round.
“I think I played almost every match on my terms. I think the worst match for me was maybe the quarter-final, where I maybe fell back into old habits,” Gauff said. “But in 24 hours I was able to switch that and I think that it’s confidence to continue to improve.”
She also took note of the age difference between herself and the other competitors left in the draw as motivation to keep building her game over the coming seasons.
“I am looking at the other semi-finalists. They are older than me, by three or four years, and I’m just trying to think of how much work I have put in this year and how far I have come,” she stated. “Now I am just excited to keep putting in the work for another year or another two years, and see where I’m at at 24 or 25. I want to see where my game can take me and hopefully it can be on the winning end of matches like this.”
Rybakina praised Gauff’s serve right after their encounter. Across the contest, little separated the two players: Gauff converted three of five break opportunities, while Rybakina managed four of six. Rybakina won 76% of her first-serve points compared to Gauff’s 58%, though Gauff flipped the script on second-serve points by winning 71% to Rybakina’s 59%, with the Kazakhstani star concluding the match with just six more total points won.
WTA U.S. Open - Elena Rybakina's projected path
Rybakina at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2026
Now the world no.2 (career-high), the Kazakhstani has managed to achieve a composed 49-13 record in 2026. The Kazakhstani is currently competing at the U.S. Open where she overcame the world no.585 Thea Frodin 6-3 6-2, the world no.105 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2 6-4, the world no.58 Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-6(6) 6-3, the world no.13 Naomi Osaka 6-1 6-4, the world no.121 Qinwen Zheng 3-6 6-1 6-4 and the world no.4 Cori Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Elena Rybakina will play the world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Their head to head is 10-7 for Sabalenka.
Elena clinched 2 titles in 2026 at the Australian Open and Stuttgart.
The Kazakhstani won 13 titles in her career: 6 on hard courts, 5 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
