Coco Gauff has reflected on her defeat in the Italian Open final to Elina Svitolina.
Gauff battled her way to the Italian Open final, despite not playing her best tennis and winning three matches from a set down.
The American was hoping to do the same in the final, but Gauff was beaten by Svitolina 6-4, 6(3)-7, 6-2.
Gauff admitted she made a mistake in the final, and she has now reflected on her defeat in her first social media post since losing to Svitolina.
Coco Gauff posts message on Instagram after defeat to Elina Svitolina
Gauff took to Instagram not long after losing in the Italian Open final, admitting that not taking the winners’ trophy stung.
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She wrote, “Ughhhhh this one stings… but I learned a lot and will improve because of it. Thank you for the past two weeks Rome (love heart emoji).”
Gauff later added another message to her Instagram story, “On a real note though, was a fun two weeks. Proud of myself. Learned a lot. Ready for Paris now.”
The world number four was met with many messages of support, including from WTA player Eva Lys, who is one of Gauff’s best friends on tour.
Lys wrote, “Still my number one though (sad face and love heart face emojis).”
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Coco Gauff’s record in clay court finals after Italian Open loss
Gauff will now look ahead to her Roland Garros title defence, but she actually has a negative record in clay court finals.
The Italian Open was Gauff’s sixth clay court final on the WTA Tour, and she has only won two of those.
This includes back-to-back defeats in the championship match in Rome, with Gauff losing to Jasmine Paolini in the Italian capital last year.
| Tournament where Gauff reached a clay court final | Final result |
| Emilia-Romagna Open 2021 | Gauff beat Qiang Wang, 6-1 6-3 |
| Roland Garros 2022 | Iga Swiatek beat Gauff, 6-1 6-3 |
| Madrid Open 2025 | Aryna Sabalenka beat Gauff, 6-3 7-6(3) |
| Italian Open 2025 | Jasmine Paolini beat Gauff, 6-4 6-2 |
| Roland Garros 2025 | Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka, 6(5)-7 6-2 6-4 |
| Italian Open 2026 | Elina Svitolina beat Gauff, 6-4 6(3)-7 6-2 |
Gauff will hope to improve her clay court record at Roland Garros, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final last year.
The main draw of Roland Garros gets underway on Sunday, May 24.
