No. 4 seed Coco Gauff acknowledged frustration after a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Elisabetta Cocciaretto at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, her second straight loss since reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals. The reigning Roland Garros champion said she has been practicing well but has struggled to reproduce that level in competition.

“I just feel like I haven’t showed up with my best level the last few matches,” Gauff said to open her post-match mixed zone. “I’m just looking to find that again.”

Gauff began the 2026 season brightly, including a win over Iga Swiatek at the United Cup in January, but a surprising defeat in Melbourne to Elina Svitolina preceded her recent slide. After a Monday night doubles loss alongside Victoria Mboko and a first-round bye in Doha, Gauff appeared out of sorts against Cocciaretto.

“I just feel like some of the things I’ve been working on in practice aren’t translating to the match court, which is super frustrating,” said Gauff. “I’ve been having good practices, but just not playing well in the matches. I just need to find how it can translate.”

Cocciaretto, who had to come through qualifying, made the most of her second chance in the main draw. The 21-year-old recorded her third career Top 10 victory and produced her first win over Gauff since they met in juniors in 2018.

“I tried to be more aggressive and was hitting more unforced errors,” the American explained. “When I tried to be a little more passive and play with more shape, she was taking the ball early and crushing the ball.

“I think I need to figure out how to play against players like her, who hit super flat and take everything early. I think the last two matches showed I’ve been struggling with that. That’s something I need to work on in practice.”

Gauff found one small positive in Doha: an improved serve. “Today, with only three double faults, that’s positive, and same with the matches I had in Australia,” Gauff said. “I think there weren’t many double faults there, as well. That’s the one positive. Now I need to figure out what I’m doing off the ground to lose these matches.”

She also described a mental hurdle in converting practice into performance. “Physically, I know I can do it and I can do it when there’s not much pressure. I need to figure out how to do it when there’s more pressure.”

Alexandra Eala reached a new national milestone this week, becoming the first woman from the Philippines to break into the Top 40 in WTA rankings history, which dates all the way back to 1975. The 20-year-old rose from No. 45 to No. 40 following her run to the quarterfinals in Abu Dhabi, her first time reaching the quarterfinals of a WTA 500-level event.

That Abu Dhabi result marked Eala’s fifth WTA quarterfinal at any level, and all five have arrived within the last 11 months. Her breakthrough sequence began last year with a run to the semifinals of Miami (WTA 1000), a final appearance at Eastbourne (WTA 250) and a quarterfinal showing in Sao Paulo (WTA 250). This season she added a semifinal in Auckland (WTA 250) and the Abu Dhabi quarterfinal that pushed her into the Top 40.

Eala had already set two other national firsts last year when she became the first woman from the Philippines to enter both the Top 100 and the Top 50, cracking those ranking classes in March and November respectively. Her ascent to the Top 40 continues that trend of steady progress.

A three-tournament week on the WTA tour produced several ranking leaps. Sara Bejlek, the 20-year-old who won her first career WTA title in Abu Dhabi, soared from No. 101 to No. 38, shattering her previous high of No. 75. American Hailey Baptiste, who reached her maiden WTA semifinal in Abu Dhabi, rose from No. 56 to No. 39 to make her Top 40 debut.

In Cluj-Napoca, Emma Raducanu reached her first WTA final since winning the 2021 US Open and moved from No. 30 to No. 25, her highest ranking since 2022. Sorana Cirstea, who won the fourth WTA title of her career and her first on home soil in Romania, climbed from No. 36 to No. 31, her highest ranking since 2024. Ukrainian breakout Oleksandra Oliynykova rose from No. 91 to No. 71, eclipsing her previous high of No. 90 after reaching the first WTA semifinal of her career in Cluj-Napoca. It was only her second WTA main draw, after this year’s Australian Open, where she fell first round to Madison Keys.

Coco Gauff used media day at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open to discuss more than tennis, revealing she finished Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights between her run to the Australian Open quarterfinals and her return to Doha. The 1847 novel and Emerald Fennell’s upcoming film adaptation starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie prompted a blunt read and a clear reaction from the American.

“I’m really curious how they’re going to do the movie, because I saw that they’re marketing it as the greatest love story, and after reading it, it’s not a great love story,” Gauff said. “So I don’t really know if this is about to be like, I feel like it’s just going to be the director’s take on the movie, based off the marketing. We’ll see.

“It was a good book, but it definitely is not the greatest love story. It’s a lot of toxicity and abuse going on in that book.”

The experience apparently nudged Gauff toward more classic reads. “I’ve never read a book in the 1800s before, so I had to reread a couple pages sometimes to understand the English. But I think it was good, I think I’ll do it some more to challenge myself.” She also showed off a Heated Rivalry hat she received as a gift at the end of the press conference.

On court in Doha, Gauff is entered in both singles and doubles, the latter alongside Victoria Mboko. As the No. 4 seed she remains focused on her tournament preparation but allowed room for other parts of the winter calendar.

“My friend’s boyfriend is on the Seahawks, so I’m rooting for the Seahawks strictly because of her,” she said, casting her lot with Seattle ahead of their meeting with the New England Patriots.

Gauff also flagged the Super Bowl halftime show as her viewing priority. “I’m excited to see Bad Bunny perform. Hopefully Cardi B can come out. So, I’m more interested in the halftime show this year, just because I don’t really have a dog in the fight for the Super Bowl. I’ll probably be sleeping, and I’ll just watch the halftime show in the morning.”