Elisabetta Cocciaretto reacts to Coco Gauff upset after Doha win

Coco Gauff’s tough run at the Qatar Open continued into the 2026 season, with another early exit in Doha.

She was knocked out by the world No. 57, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who claimed a straight-sets victory to progress to the third round.

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Cocciaretto won 6-4, 6-2 and afterwards spoke about what it meant for her to face one of the tour’s top players and come away with a win.

It’s no doubt a big moment for Cocciaretto, but it’ll still be disappointing for Gauff given she made it all the way through to the final last year.

Elisabetta Cocciaretto: ‘It’s a privilege to play someone like Coco Gauff’

“Thank you for coming here to watch us. It is incredible, the tournament here,” said Cocciaretto.

“It is an honour to play her, she is such a great example to me. She is a really great player and a great battle.

“It was an honour to share the court with her today. I am really happy to be in the next round here in Doha and to play in front of you guys again.”

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The victory marked Cocciaretto’s first win over Gauff, who had taken their previous three meetings without dropping a set.

Asked whether her title run in Hobart earlier this year had helped boost her confidence, Cocciaretto replied:

“I came into this week just trying to get as many matches as possible under my belt. I ended up playing 10 straight matches there, which was incredible for me. Now I’m just looking forward to continuing that momentum.”

“Even though I’m focused on getting match experience here, my attention is still very much on Milan,” she admitted.

“There’s something special about playing during the Winter Games. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so good out there lately!”

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Where things stand for Coco Gauff in 2026

Things haven’t started off well for Gauff this season. After Team USA came up short in their United Cup title defence, she was then knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

To add to that, there was a video of her smashing a racket backstage, which quickly made the rounds on social media – something she probably didn’t want going public.

Now she’s out early again in Doha, a tournament that hasn’t been kind to her recently. It’s now four straight losses at the Qatar Open, with her last win there coming over 1,000 days ago.

Despite Cocciaretto playing well, along with previous defeats to Marta Kostyuk, Katerina Siniakova and Veronika Kudermetova, those are matches Gauff would expect herself to win.

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You’d expect someone of her quality to be reaching at least the quarterfinals or semifinals at WTA 1000 events regularly. But it just hasn’t clicked for her in the Middle East so far. Her Dubai record stands at just 7-4 too.

If she wants to stay in contention for the world number one spot later this year, Gauff will need a strong showing at Dubai. That tournament gets underway on February 16th.

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