Coco Gauff Smashes Her Head with Her Racket as She Admits to Dealing with 'Personal Things Off-Court'

NEED TO KNOW

• Coco Gauff is dealing with "personal things off the court"
• The reigning French Open champ hit herself in the head, twice, with her racket during a match at the Italian Open
• Gauff, 22, went on to win the match in three sets and has advanced to the tournament's quarterfinals

Coco Gauff took her frustrations out on herself during a match over the weekend.

The reigning French Open champion, 22, hit herself on the head with her racket at the end of her first set against the No. 72 player in the world, Solana Sierra, at the Italian Open on Saturday, May 9.

In video from the moment, Gauff hits her head hard, twice, in quick succession as she walks toward her chair for the set break.

While she dropped the first set, Gauff eventually went on to win the match in three sets, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.

Gauff said during her post-game press conference that she's trying to focus on why she loves to play.

“Just personal things off court that I’m just trying to get through, so… Yeah, but then you also remember how much fun you have. I think my regret today was not enjoying the battle, for sure."

Dropping the first set is "not something I want to do or make a habit of,” Gauff told the Tennis Channel after the match. “You go through things off court, then you come on court and everything gets amplified. I didn’t want to throw my racket or anything, so I took it out on myself. But maybe it’s better to hit the ground than myself.”

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In Australia at the start of the year and the season, Gauff did just that.

The world No. 3 tennis star was caught on camera breaking her racket on Tuesday, Jan. 27 after she lost in the quarterfinal round of the Australian Open to Elina Svitolina in straight sets, and rued the fact that the “emotional” outburst was shared on television.

“Certain moments — the same thing happened to Aryna [Sabalenka] after I played her in the final of the US Open — I feel like they don’t need to broadcast,” Gauff said after the match. “I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera because I don’t necessarily like breaking rackets.”

For the tennis star, battling opponents is just as hard as fighting the mental aspect of the sport.

After defeating Belinda Bencic to advance to the Miami Open semifinals for the first time on Tuesday, March 24, the two-time Grand Slam champion opened up during her press conference about dealing with "imposter syndrome."

"I have to believe that I belong where I am. I think sometimes I can get imposter syndrome," Gauff said while speaking with reporters. "Even when they're saying my accomplishments during the warm up, it doesn't feel like me."

Earlier on Monday, May 10, Gauff dispatched fellow American No. 16 seed Iva Jovic — after losing the first set again — 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.

Gauff is set to face Russia’s Mirra Andreeva on Tuesday, May 12 in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

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