Coco Gauff refused to hold her grunting to blame after falling short against Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open of 2024.
While many tennis players groan when playing, it’s a little more common in the women’s division of the sport. Many have been characterized as having a history of excessive and needless noise, including Sabalenka.
On Thursday, Gauff lost to Sabalenka, bringing an end to her Melbourne season. In an hour and forty-two minutes, she was defeated 6-7 (2), 4-6 in the fight held in the closed-air Rod Laver Arena. But in their head-to-head match, she still has a narrow 4-3 advantage over Sabalenka.
Gauff was asked if the grunting had ever made her feel uneasy during an encounter after the match. She expressed her remarks about it and said: “No. I mean, I played her a lot, so I can’t sit here and say that the grunt is distracting. I don’t even know; it’s like the fifth time we have played. No, I don’t think so. I don’t notice, you know, when I feel like, at least with her, it’s consistent, so it doesn’t bother me. I mean, I’ve played a player in the past where the grunt wasn’t consistent, where they would grunt longer on purpose on 30-all or deuce point.”
Gauff highlighted certain players that grunt in a really weird way or prolong it on purpose, but with Sabalenka, there are no deviations.
She added: “If it’s consistent, I can’t say anything about it. I don’t think you’re supposed to grunt while the person is hitting. Like I said, I didn’t notice it. When you play with her, you know that’s what she’s going to do. I don’t think it’s a tactic or anything. I think that’s just how she plays tennis. I think that’s just her. It’s fine. There have been other grunters in the past. It doesn’t bother me.”
Coco Gauff in 2024
Ranked world no.4, Coco played her last match on the 25th of January when she surrendered to world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(2) 6-4 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw)
.This season Gauff owns an overall 10-1 record. Coco has won 1 title in Auckland.
Sabalenka at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
Ranked no.2, Sabalenka has an overall 10-1 record in 2024. Sabalenka is now having a run at the Australian Open where she conquered the world no.173 Ella Seidel 6-0 6-1, the world no.107 Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3 6-2, the world no.33 Lesya Tsurenko 6-0 6-0, the world no.442 Amanda Anisimova 6-3 6-2, the world no.11 Barbora Krejcikova 6-2 6-3 and the world no.4 Cori Gauff 7-62 6-4.
Aryna Sabalenka will play the world no.15 Qinwen Zheng in the final on Saturday at 7:30 pm on Rod Laver Arena. Their current head to head is 1-0 for Sabalenka.
Sabalenka got to the final in Brisbane (Brisbane International).
Sabalenka won 13 titles in her career: 9 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka faced off 7 times. Their current head to head is 4-3 for Gauff. Before, the last time they locked horns, Aryna Sabalenka won 7-6(2) 6-4 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 25th of January 2024.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka |
| Embed from Getty Images |