Coco Gauff laughed off her mistakes against Elina Svitolina in the Italian Open final.
Coco Gauff after losing to Elina Svitolina in the 2026 Italian Open final. | IMAGO / Insidefoto On Saturday afternoon, Elina Svitolina defeated Coco Gauff in the Italian Open women's singles final: 6-4, 6-7 , 6-2.
Svitolina's resurgent season continues with her first WTA Masters 1000 title since winning the same event in 2018. Meanwhile, it was Gauff's first loss of her clay court campaign. Clearly, she was still processing the defeat during the on-court ceremony. The first question of her interview caught her off guard,Gauff quickly regained her composure, gave a gracious speech, and posed for pictures.
Once she completed all of her obligations after the match, Gauff laughed off the loss with self-deprecating humor on her Instagram story. Gauff's first Instagram story post was a humorous list of her top five horror movie ideas:2. Talking after you lose.5. Ceremony after you lose.
"Also, before the think pieces come... this is a joke, and I'm smiling while writing this," Gauff added. "Thought it would be funny. Not meant to be taken seriously, lol, before the people with no humor get mad.
"Coco Gauff joked about the on-court ceremony on Instagram. | @cocogauff A picture of Gauff hugging her trophy tight while watching Svitolina's speech quickly became a meme on Tennis Twitter. While"Me disassociating, replaying all of my mistakes in my head and trying not to crash out during the ceremony.
" After that post, Gauff stopped kidding around and offered a since message. Gauff shared a selfie of herself using the finalist trophy as a mirror.
"On a real note, though, was a fun two weeks, proud of myself, learned a lot, ready for Paris now," said Gauff. After today's loss, Gauff is the WTA World No. 4 with a singles record of 24-9 with zero titles. Later this month, the American star must defend 2,000 ranking points at the French Open. Svitolina is the World No. 10 with a record of 28-7 with two titles.
The Ukrainian star kicked off the year by winning the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, and has enjoyed an incredibly strong season. The Italian Open will conclude on the men's side tomorrow with a final showdown between Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud. After that, clay court court season continues into the French Open later this month. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated'sGooglePAT BENSON Pat Benson covers professional tennis for Serve on Sports Illustrated, reporting on ATP and WTA events worldwide.
From Challenger tournaments to Grand Slams, he brings readers in-depth coverage, daily recaps, and exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in the sport. With a decade of experience in sports journalism, Pat is recognized as a trusted voice in tennis media. You can contact him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.
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