How a group of disrespectful children crashed Coco Gauff out of the US Open

A group of children could sense that US tennis star Coco Gauff was struggling with her serve in the fourth round of the US Open, leading to some unsavoury scenes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After taking the match to a deciding set against fellow American Emma Navarro, Gauff found herself 5-3 down and on the brink of an exit from the US Open.

A group of children sensed that Gauff's time in the tournament was almost up, and a flock moved into prime position with merchandise to get ready for autographs.

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The former US Open champion was serving to stay in the game and was still in a position to overcome the deficit and beat Navarro. Eventually, security intervened and ushered the children away from the court to let Gauff concentrate on the match.

The incident looked to really unnerve Gauff, and the situation got the better of her, losing in the final set 6-3. Commentator Chris Fowler spoke on the situation during the game.

According to the Daily Mail, Fowler said: "When you're at the end of a match, the extras will let the kids come down with the giant tennis balls to sign, a signal that they believe this could end soon."

For Gauff, it was a situation that summed up her last few tournaments, having been knocked out of Wimbledon in the fourth round, the third round of the Olympics, and having one win and two losses on hard courts in preparation for the US Open.

In her fourth-round match against Navarro, Gauff had 60 unforced errors. She attributed her errors to a mix of problems with her mechanics.

"I go down on my left side a lot on my serve, and it's something I'm aware of, but it's tough in the moment to, I guess, try not to do it." She added: It's sometimes more of an emotional, mental thing because if I go out on the practice court right now, I would make, like, 30 serves in a row."

Fortunately for the world number three, according to the WTA Rankings, the American has time to perfect her game and fix her issues before the start of the 2025 Grand Slam season, starting in January in Australia.

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