One thing is for certain – the American fans visit a boatload of rollercoaster moments. Merely a day after the community saw tennis great Serena Williams make a surprise Super Bowl LIX halftime show cameo with Kendrick Lamar, which brought the hammer down on Drake, they’ve now been sent into a frenzy following an upsetting update from Doha. American Coco Gauff was denied a deep run at the Qatar Open. Subsequently, her opening act loss in the season’s first WTA 1000 Masters event has sparked an online debate about her inconsistent form.

Gauff commenced her Qatar TotalEnergies Open run on the back of a disappointing end to her Australian Open campaign. Despite guiding her Team USA to their second consecutive United Cup title days before, the 20-year-old’s solid form was no answer to a resurgent Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. Moreover, Gauff herself admitted that she hadn’t enjoyed much luck in her previous outings for the Doha event.

“Yeah, I think for me, obviously, it’s an important tournament. It’s the first 1000 of the year, but I think I’m just trying not to put that much pressure on it, especially since I haven’t done so well here,” she told Doha News. And, her fears came to life on Tuesday, February 11, when she clashed with Marta Kostyuk in the Round of 32. Marred with inconsistencies on her serve and forehand, the Ukrainian player needed just 72 minutes to send her packing in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.

Seeing as she exited Qatar for the third straight time – with 39 unforced errors and only eight winners – fans immediately took to X and remarked their thoughts on her early exit.

Tennis fans take brutal dig at Coco Gauff’s mental strength following Qatar Open exit

Judging by the looks of fans’ comments on X, it’s fair to say that they were ready to witness the latest disappointing result from Coco Gauff. Following her exit from the WTA 1000 Masters event, one fan took a sly dig at her and made fun of her misfortune by sarcastically calling out her inconsistent results in Doha saying, “On the bright side, Coco will not lose points, that’s what you call consistency!”

Another user highlighted her struggles with maintaining a resilient form saying, “Coco Gauff…what an absolute disaster of mental weakness!!” Nothing, nothing to show… the serve DISASTER, forehand DISASTER, backhand DISASTER… mentally completely and absolutely NOTHING!!”

For those unaware, Gauff couldn’t maintain her form at the Middle East event last year as well. She suffered a similar Round of 32 exit (against Katerina Siniakova) and later, struggled with serving woes ahead of the North American swing. Gauff recorded back-to-back premature exits to lower-ranked players at the 2024 Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters – where she was slated to defend her title from 2023. Moreover, the 20-year-old failed to defend her US Open crown after bowing out to countrywoman Emma Navarro in the fourth round.

However, she acknowledged her issues with service and forehand and, as a result, parted ways with ex-coach Brad Gilbert, who was recently diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a common but treatable form of skin cancer. Hoping to register a turnaround, Gauff joined forces with technique correction specialist Matt Daly and her decision paid off. She clinched her second and third WTA Masters title at the China Open and the WTA Finals, respectively. Moreover, before campaigning in Doha and facing Kostyuk, the World No. 3 had won her last 17 matches against opponents outside the top 20.

Looking back at fans’ comments, one fan asked: “Why do you keep ranking Coco so high?” while another fan slammed the American star for being “Overrated”. Another netizen pointed out how some “compared her to Iga Swiatek.” Gauff, one of the top three ranked players in the world, trails behind Polish Swiatek (No. 2) and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1). However, her ability to outshine those competitors and lead as the WTA ranking topper has often been questioned by experts and critics. And, with a 3-11 head-to-head record against the Polish trailblazer, fans’ concerns are indeed justified.

For now, Gauff will look to remedy her technique and see that her woes are well tended to if she hopes for a triumphant 2025 season. With three Slams ahead of her, the American sensation needs to look at her best, before suffering a major drop in rankings and her hold on her tour.