Coco Gauff faced her first significant challenge in defending her US Open title and triumphed with impressive resilience, coming back from a set down to defeat Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The No. 3 seed extended her winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 10 matches, though Svitolina, a former world No. 3 and No. 27 seed, pushed her to the limit. Gauff secured the victory after two hours and three minutes of play on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Despite arriving in New York feeling out of form, Gauff remained hopeful after early exits from Wimbledon, the Summer Olympics, and the Cincinnati Open, where she was the defending champion.
“The main goal was to be as prepared as possible for this tournament. Losing early was actually a blessing in disguise because it gave me time to train, which I hadn’t been able to do before,” the 20-year-old shared during her Media Day press conference. “I tend to achieve my best results after a good training block.”
This seemed to hold true for the American in her first two matches, which she won without dropping a set. However, Svitolina presented a significantly tougher challenge, being a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist, including at the US Open in 2019.
After missing most of the 2022 season to have her daughter Skaï with husband and fellow player Gaël Monfils, Svitolina climbed back up the rankings, reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the semifinals at Wimbledon last year.
Despite dealing with a back injury in 2024, the 29-year-old displayed moments of her top form throughout the year, notably at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she took world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka to a third-set tiebreaker.
Gauff and Svitolina were even in their head-to-head record with one win each, with Gauff securing the most recent victory on hard courts at the ASB Classic in January.
Nonetheless, Svitolina took the early lead by targeting Gauff’s less reliable forehand side and managing a couple of lengthy games to break Gauff’s serve at love and win the opening set.
Svitolina continued to apply pressure early in the second set, forcing Gauff to dig in. Gauff saved a break point in the fifth game and, after a change of ends, took control with a forehand into the open court to gain her first lead of the match.
As the crowd cheered “Let’s go, Coco!” Gauff capitalized on her momentum, serving her way to three set points and leveling the match with an ace.
Gauff carried that momentum into the third set, breaking early and winning a key point to establish a 2-0 lead. Despite initially avoiding a double-break deficit, Svitolina gave it up two games later, appearing fatigued as she made her 30th unforced error.
Svitolina fought to stay in the match and made a strong effort, saving two match points with a backhand winner on the third. Although Gauff saved a break point with a winner, Svitolina continued to push and managed to break back.
However, Gauff quickly regained control, earning three more match points on Svitolina’s serve and converting one when Svitolina netted a forehand just past the two-hour mark.
Gauff will next face either No. 13 seed Emma Navarro, who defeated her at Wimbledon, or No. 19 seed Marta Kostyuk, who pushed her to three sets at the Australian Open and defeated her a few months later at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
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