Coco Gauff’s US Open campaign came to a heartbreaking end after she was dealt a straight games loss at the hands of Naomi Osaka in her round of 16 encounter. After the match, former British tennis star Tim Henman shared some strongly worded advice for the American.
After her triumph at the French Open, Gauff has dealt with some tumultuous ups and downs, and her US Open campaign was no different. The 21-year-old’s first round match was a three-set thriller, and her second round encounter against Donna Vekic saw her break down in tears mid-game before she calmed herself down to win the match 7-6(5), 6-2.
On Monday, Coco Gauff looked completely outplayed by two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka. The American went down 3-6, 2-6 without being able to put up much of a fight. Reacting to her loss, Tim Henman, a former World No.4, shared some advice for the youngster, telling Sky Sports,
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“Gauff is such a good competitor, but you saw at the end of the match that she couldn’t wait to get off that court quick enough. We’ve seen the emotion on the court, in tears at times. It’s been almost traumatic at times. She needs a little bit of time away from this environment to decompress and contemplate her next move.”
Henman went on to highlight how Gauff's focus on her serve was leading to difficulties in her game, adding,
“When you talk about someone being in the zone, that’s when you’ve got that really clear mindset and Osaka had that. When you think about the other end of the court with Gauff it just looks like she’s so confused out there. It’s so stressful. She’s focusing so much on her serve, as we all are, when you’ve got that type of mindset, it’s very difficult to play your best tennis, especially against a world-class player who is making life difficult for you.”
In her round of 16 encounter, Gauff committed 33 unforced errors and landed only eight winners, leaving her struggling against an in-form Osaka.
Coco Gauff’s 2025 Grand Slam season recap
After her US Open exit, Coco Gauff's 2025 Grand Slam season has drawn to a close. The American has dealt with mixed results at Majors this year.
She kicked off her 2025 at the Australian Open, where she made it to the quarterfinals on the back of several impressive wins. However, in the quarterfinals she was defeated by 11th seed Paula Badosa.
Up next, Gauff headed to the clay courts of the French Open. At Roland Garros, the American outdid the likes of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Madison Keys en route to the finals. In the summit clash, she came back from a set down to defeat World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and win her second Grand Slam title.
Immediately after the French Open, Coco Gauff was dealt with one of the biggest upsets of her 2025 Grand Slam season, as she went down against an unseeded Dayana Yastremska in straight sets in her opening round match at the Wimbledon Championships.
