Elina Svitolina Takes Down Coco Gauff In Less Than An hour!
Australian Open
January 27, 2026
Elina Svitolina has produced one of the biggest shocks of this year’s Australian Open.
It took her just 59 minutes to knock out the troubled Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-2 under a closed roof.
The Ukrainian mother did it with raw aggression consummate ease. Her reward is to reach her first ever semi-final in Melbourne.
Elina Svitolina versus Coco Gauff would make for a fascinating match-up if the American gets the chance for revenge at Wimbledon 2026.
But for now, the headlines belong to the underdog – and deservedly so. This was a supremely mature and focused performance.
As if to remind us what infinitely powerful things women can achieve when they put their mind to it, Svitolina took this surprising step forward just two years after giving birth to her daughter.
There is the ever-present motivation of making her native Ukraine proud in times of crisis. Her husband, Gael Monfils looked pretty proud too.
Svitolina, who used to live in London, is back in the top ten – something we might not have expected of this superb player after having a baby.
No wonder she was beaming at the thought of her incredible comeback as she collected her thoughts and reflected on what she had just done.
‘Not bad. Very pleased with the tournament so far. It’s always been my dream to come back to the top ten after maternity leave. That’s what I told my coach when we were training off-season.
‘It means the world to me. I always try to push myself and give myself motivation to continue. I’m really happy to go through to the semi-final.’
Coco Gauff has never won the Australian Open or Wimbledon. Perhaps thwarted ambition contributed to her belated anger.
Coco was in meltdown within minutes of this reverse. She smashed her racquet repeatedly when she thought she was out of the constant gaze of the cameras.
And perhaps that’s the problem. Coco feels too much pressure every time. She is one of the biggest names in world tennis – already an icon.
That kind of expectation is hard to live up to every time. And on this particular occasion, she failed miserably.
It wasn’t just the ever-problematic serve that produced the problem. In fact Coco’s serve wasn’t as bad as it has been during some previous defeats.
The wild and wayward nature of the forehand was the primary cause of her downfall. But this time there was no fighting spirit to pull her back from the brink.
Coco Gauff is only 21 – and she will come good again this year. She is too talented to stay down for long.
Elina Svitolina will arrive at Wimbledon 2026 in six months’ time with a new confidence, however.
And everyone will admire this amazing lady for what she has already managed to do in comeback mode,
Will you be there to watch these extraordinary women fight for fresh success at Wimbledon 2026?
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