Coco Gauff is hoping she’s in the thick of déjà vu.
Last May, Gauff lost the Italian Open final in Rome to Jasmine Paolini, a beloved Italian national. But less than a month later, she won the French Open, also known as Roland-Garros, by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in an intense three-set final. The victory was Gauff’s second Grand Slam title, as she previously beat Sabalenka to claim the U.S. Open in September 2023.
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On Saturday, Gauff fell in the Italian Open final to Elina Svitolina in three sets — 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 — and while Gauff will have her chance for a second straight year to avenge the loss at Roland-Garros soon enough, she’s sitting with this loss.
Gauff wrote a humorous list of the “top 5 horror movies” to her Instagram Story, as follows: “1. sitting through a trophy ceremony after you lose 2. talking after you lose 3. smiling with your finalist trophy 4. sitting through trophy ceremony when you lose 5. ceremony after you lose.”
Gauff noted at the bottom, “Also, before the thinkpieces come… this is a joke, and I’m smiling while writing this. Thought it would be funny. Not meant to be taken seriously before the [people] with no humor get mad [laughing-crying emoji].”
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Gauff also posted an Instagram carousel from the past two weeks in Rome, captioned, “Ughhhhh this one stings… but I learned a lot and will improve because of it.”
The 22-year-old superstar had one more joke in her, reposting a photo of her holding her ceremonial plate with the message, “Me dissociating replaying all of my mistakes in my head and trying not to crash out during the ceremony.”
As of this writing, Gauff’s WTA singles rank is No. 4, but that will be updated before she takes the clay court later this month. The French Open is the second Grand Slam tournament of the tennis calendar year, and Gauff reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January.
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