Fans wanted to know what happened to Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Masters after the young tennis star left the court in tears.
Coco Gauff has endured a whirlwind week during the America hard-court season. The teenager recently earned the No. 1 world ranking in doubles. At 18, Gauff is the second-youngest player to hold the top spot in the doubles rankings.
Earlier this year, Gauff reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the French Open, losing to Iga Świątek in straight sets. She also reached the final in doubles with partner Jessica Pegula but was defeated by Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
At the Canadian Open last week, Gauff and Pegula defeated Nicole Melichar and Ellen Perez in the final. It was their second WTA 1000 title together.
What happened to Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Masters?
Gauff was on a high coming into the Cincinnati Masters (also known as the Western & Southern Open) this week, ranked as the No. 12 singles player in the world.
Gauff was the youngest player in the Western & Southern Open field. However, she was forced to retire during her first-round match on Tuesday (August 16, 2022). Fans understandably wanted to know what happened.
Gauff was leading Marie Bouzkova 5-3, 30-15 when she turned her ankle during the match. Gauff called for the trainer, who examined the lower leg injury, then tried to continue but lost the first set, 7-5.
Gauff retired after the first game of the second set. She looked visibly distraught by the side of the court and was in tears as she was forced to withdraw.
Concerns ahead of US Open
There are understandable concerns about Gauff’s fitness ahead of the final major of the year. The US Open is set to get under way in New York at the end of August.
Greg Rusedski, speaking as part of Amazon Prime’s coverage of the Cincinnati tournament, said: “Let’s hope the ankle is not too serious because she has played some great tennis to reach number one in doubles.
“You would have expected her to come through this match and hopefully she will be ok for the US Open.”
Gauff is still in the doubles draw in Cincinnati with partner Jessica Pegula. However, it remains to be seen how bad her ankle injury is and whether she can continue in the tournament.
Bouzkova now has 14 wins in her last 16 matches and reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Bouzkova will face another American, Alison Riske-Amritraj, in the second round