Ugly or Pretty, Coco Gauff Knows How to Win

Teen tennis star Coco Gauff has officially advanced to her first Australian Open semifinal. In the dramatic quarterfinal showdown, Gauff defeated Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 7-6(6), 6-7(3), 6-2, after battling back from a 1-5 deficit in the first set.

Gauff’s quarterfinal victory did not come easily.  In fact, the American teen saw her streak of 19 successful service holds and 11 consecutive sets won come to an end, according to NBC Sports. Additionally, Gauff registered three times more unforced errors than winners during the match.

So, how exactly did she do it?

Coco Gauff Has Learned How to Win Ugly

In the words of her coach, Brad Gilbert, the No. 4 seed Gauff won ugly against Kostyuk. By the end of the match, Gauff had 51 unforced errors, 9 double faults, a vulnerable forehand, and only 17 winners compared to Kostyuk’s 39.

Luckily for Gauff, her coach Brad Gilbert is the author of famous book, “Winning Ugly,” and he has taught her first-hand how to do it, according to Tennis Magazine.

Despite never reading the book, Gauff learned from the master. In her post match press conference, Gauff told reporters “My mom actually got it for me when we were in the talks of just possibly working with Brad and she was like, ‘You need to read this.’ She read it and I didn’t read it. I feel like I got the real version so I don’t need a book.”

Gauff acknowledged that her performance against Kostyuk was not at its best. “Today was definitely a C-game,” Gauff told reporters. “Obviously sometimes when you’re down 5-1 you’re not expecting to win the set.”

But trailing 1-5 didn’t stop Gauff. “I really fought and left it all out on the court today,” the American said.

Safe to say, Gauff won ugly. “I didn’t play my best tennis but really proud that I was able to get through and hopefully I got the bad match out of the way, and I can play even better,” Gauff said.

Gauff Will Now Face Sabalenka in U.S. Open Rematch

Coco Gauff will now face No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. According to ESPN, Gauff and Sabalenka have played each other on six occasions, with Gauff emerging victorious four of those times–the most notable being at the 2023 U.S. Open finals.

Since winning the U.S. Open, Gauff’s mindset remains steady, and she plans to stay at the top, even if it means winning ugly. “I think there’s a quote, ‘It’s not easy to get to the top, but easier to get to the top [and] harder to stay there.’ The goal is to stay here as long as possible and keep going upwards. I mean, I’m not at the top, but I’m up there,” Gauff told reporters in her post match press conference.

On her road to double-digit Grand Slam titles, Gauff is geared up for her seventh battle against Sabalenka.

“Always a tough match with [Aryna],” Gauff said. “I think she’s playing well this tournament. Yeah, obviously that US Open final was tough… I think either way it’s going to be a tough match.”

The semifinal match between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka is scheduled to begin Thursday, January 25 at 3:30 am EST.

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