Labor Day is universally known as the unofficial end of summer—and for 2024, it comes one day after Coco Gauff had a disappointing summer come to an earlier-than-expected close.
Once again, Emma Navarro proved to be Gauff’s kryptonite, as the No. 13 seed and former University of Virginia product defeated her compatriot, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, dethroning the defending US Open champion and advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in New York. It was just two months ago when Gauff had her Wimbledon run end in the same round and against the same opponent in straight sets.
Those two matches are the bookends to a chapter of Gauff's tennis life that she would rather like to forget, especially given the goals she publicly expressed earlier this year, most notably wanting to be on the podium in all three disciplines at the Paris Olympics. After her semifinal run at Roland Garros to end the spring, Gauff won just one match during the summer hard-court season in North America heading into Flushing Meadows, along with failing to medal in any of the competitions in Paris.
Instead of a gold medal around her neck, Gauff’s 19 double faults in Sunday’s match—11 in the final set—hung as an albatross (along with 60 unforced errors) as she tried to sum up what went wrong.
“Overall, I think I played well for the most part. I just didn't take care of my serve, so that was the biggest difference,” Gauff said. “Too many free points on my serve.”
One thing Gauff did not chalk up her defeat to was any sort of mental fatigue from thinking about both Olympic glory and defending her first-ever grand slam title in her home major—an event where she is the face of the tournament and its main attraction anytime she steps onto the court. That outlook makes sense given that Navarro won 100 total points in the match to Gauff’s 88, with 19 of Emma’s points coming on Coco’s double faults. Gauff did suggest that bringing in another pair of eyes might be part of a solution she considers going forward.
“I definitely want to get other opinions because … I think it's sometimes more of an emotional, mental thing because if I go out on the practice court right now, I would make, like, 30 serves in a row. I've done it before,” Gauff said. “I think it's also just kind of a mental hurdle that I have to get over when it comes with that. But, yeah, I definitely want to look at other things because I don't want to lose matches like this anymore.”
Before the start of the tournament, Gauff shared that a TikTok message helped her find the right perspective heading into the US Open and manage the pressure of coming in as the defending champion. The note stated that she shouldn’t stress about a victory lap and about something she already has. That positive spin was also evident when summing up her last couple of months.
“I feel like there's, like, 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had even though it's my least [I’ve] probably done well during this time of the year,” Gauff said. “So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to make the Olympics. So many people want to be flagbearer. It's perspective.
“Obviously because I'm wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing, but I'm not going to beat myself up and be, like, 'This was so bad.' Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around.”
