Coco Gauff recently went down against Elina Svitolina in the finals of the Italian Open. After the match, the American’s on court speech during the trophy ceremony took a completely unexpected turn, leaving fans amused.
Gauff’s path to the finals in Rome saw her put on some incredible performances, taking down the likes of Iva Jovic and Mirra Andreeva in three sets before brushing past Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals. On Saturday, May 16, the World No.4 was in action for her summit clash against Elina Svitolina, a battle where she fell 4-6, 7-6(3), 2-6.
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During the trophy ceremony after the match, Coco Gauff’s runners-up speech took an unexpected turn as she broke out in giggles standing in front of the mic. Watch a video of the moment below:
After curbing her laughter, Gauff began her speech by congratulating Elina Svitolina, saying,
“First I wanna congratulate Elina. Another tough battle between us. I’m on the other side but hopefully one of these days I can get over that. You had an incredible tournament, a lot of long matches against great players. Congratulations to you and your team, who are always very nice on and off the court. Hopefully see you in the French Open at the final! That would be nice.”
The two-time Grand Slam champion then went on to thank God and her team, adding,
“Next I would like to thank God and my lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Always keeping me covered and just a source of calmness for me. Then I would like to thank my team. I’m sorry I couldn’t play a little bit better in some moments today but it’s been a great two weeks with you guys. I definitely feel the momentum going into the French Open. A lot of lessons learned from this match. We keep going and I appreciate you guys.”
Coco Gauff concluded her speech by thanking her parents and family, and extending her gratitude to the tournament organizers, ball kids as well as the fans.
Coco Gauff set to return to action at French Open
After concluding her campaign at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Coco Gauff will now return to action at the French Open. The second Grand Slam of the year is scheduled to take place between May 24 and June 7, with the American arriving at the tournament as the defending champion. Joining her in Paris will be the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and more.
Coco Gauff began her 2026 clay season at the Stuttgart Open, where she made it to the quarterfinals before falling short against Karolina Muchova. She then returned to action at the Madrid Open, where she failed to make it past the fourth round, losing out to Linda Noskova. She has since gone on to register a runners-up finish at the Italian Open.
Edited by Riddhi Acharya
