Coco Gauff. Image via: Manu Fernandez/ AP
Coco Gauff did not have a smooth afternoon in Madrid, but she found a way through it. The third seed pushed past illness and discomfort to defeat Sorana Cirstea in a three-set battle that tested more than just her tennis.
What unfolded mid-match caught everyone off guard, including Gauff herself.There was no warning. One moment she was competing, the next she was fighting to stay composed as her body gave in. Still, she refused to walk away. That decision defined the match as much as the final score, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, and offered a glimpse into the mindset that keeps her among the sport’s elite.
What did Coco Gauff say after vomiting on court
Coco Gauff gets medical attention. Image via Fernandez. Image via: Manu Fernandez
After the match, Coco Gauff did not hide from the moment. She addressed it directly, even if it was uncomfortable to revisit.“When I actually threw up on the court, that was like a little bit embarrassing,” Gauff said of the moment. “Then after that first game and the second, I was like that took everything out of me.”She described how the issue built up gradually. “I felt fine all this morning. I felt a little weird last night, but I was OK. Woke up this morning, felt fine. And mid-first set, I was feeling like I was going to throw up. And then I did.”
The situation did not improve instantly. “They gave me some pills and that definitely helped. After that, once I felt the feeling of throwing up, then I just felt nauseous and tired. I just didn’t want to throw up in the middle of the point, which I almost did at one point.”Despite all of it, her approach never changed. “I’m someone who doesn’t like to pull out. I don’t like to do that unless I really feel like I have no other options,” she said.
“So the plan was to always just try to finish, even if it ended up with me just playing just to get through it.”
Coco Gauff beats Sorana Cirstea in Madrid
The match itself had its own twists. Gauff dropped the opening set and trailed again before finding her rhythm. It was not clean tennis, but it was determined tennis. She clawed back into the second set, forcing errors and extending rallies, before taking control in the decider.There was a wider context too. Illness has been quietly affecting players at the Madrid Open.
Iga Swiatek withdrew earlier with what appeared to be a similar issue, adding to the sense that something was going around.Gauff acknowledged that possibility. “It was just a tough match. I think I got the Madrid stomach virus that’s going around. I’m usually someone who doesn’t get sick, so, I don’t know. My luck today just wasn’t good.”Even then, she found a way. That may be the part that stays with her more than anything else.
