Coco Gauff is proving why she’s a force to be reckoned with—on and off the court. The American sensation stormed into 2025 after a stellar WTA Finals victory last year, showcasing her brilliance and leading her team to glory at the United Cup. With such blistering form, Gauff entered the Australian Open as one of the top favorites to clinch the title. But, the road to glory isn’t always smooth. Gauff fell short in Melbourne, unable to translate her momentum into a Grand Slam triumph this time. But the 20-year-old is not one to dwell on setbacks or let the noise of naysayers dictate her journey. In true Gauff style, she’s shutting down the doubters with a powerful message of strength and positivity.

The American tennis sensation played her last match against Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals and lost in straight sets. This was a surprising defeat for Gauff because she had dropped only one set en route to the quarterfinals. The young player finished with 41 unforced errors, which included six double-faults, and 28 missed forehands. This led to some criticism on social media with a lot of people questioning her skills. But now, Gauff has come up with a response and is shutting her critics in style.

Taking to X, the American star shared a video of herself and wrote, “very proud of myself idc what ya’ll say… a lot more to do but I am proud❤️  thank you for the edit @/alyatennxis on tik tok!” Interestingly, this is not the first time when Gauff has resonated with such sentiments after her Australian Open exit.

When quizzed during the post-match interview, about how she plans to detach herself from criticism, Gauff shared an honest opinion. “I guess you just have to realize that most of the internet coaches never coached anyone at my level or never played. So it’s one of those things,” she said, adding, “I take it with a grain of salt.” But what is fueling Gauff’s resilience on the wake of the major setback? Her own admission is a marker of her growth.

Coco Gauff exudes satisfaction after Australian Open campaign

Coco Gauff might have failed to add yet another Grand Slam title to her name, but her run to the quarterfinal was nothing short of phenomenal. However, losing to a player who never made it past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam event is a hard pill to swallow. But Gauff is depicting immense maturity and focusing on what she achieved at the tournament.

Speaking about her campaign after the match, Gauff said, “I feel like (at the) U.S. Open, I was playing with no solution, so that was more the frustrating part. Today, I feel like I’m playing with solutions; I know what I need to work on. U.S. Open, I needed to work on my serve. Not saying that my serve is where I want it to be, but I worked on it; obviously a big improvement. So I want to continue working on that, continue working on playing aggressive.” She further expressed pride in herself with a strong message of self-appreciation.

“So I feel like I’m on the road to the right way, the right path. Even though I lost today, I feel like I’m in an upward trajectory,” Gauff added. Now, as the season unfolds, it will be interesting to see if the American star can convert this positivity and confidence into some meaningful victories going ahead.