Danielle Collins declared the viral Coco Gauff Australian Open moment "a huge privacy issue" as the 32-year-old suggests there was no reason to film the 21-year-old American off the court moments after she had picked up a painful defeat.
In case you somehow missed it, Gauff did her best to keep her emotions in check during a 1-6 2-6 Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina. However, shortly after leaving the Rod Laver Arena court, the world No. 5 – thinking that there were no cameras around – released her frustration by smashing her racket off the floor.
The entire moment was caught on camera and quickly went viral. After entering the press room, Gauff told reporters that she didn't want to break a racket on the court because she didn't want to set a bad example for kids.
Coco Gauff releases her frustrations after a disappointing defeat in the Australian Open quarter-finals 💥 pic.twitter.com/4Ur9jlxR0P
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 27, 2026
The majority of the public defended the 21-year-old and many argued that the two-time Grand Slam champion had every right to express her frustration in whatever way she wanted off the court.
Collins, who finished as runner-up at the Australian Open in 2022, shares the same opinion.
Collins defends Gauff: We need to have some space and not feel like we're being watched every second of the day
“I think it’s a huge privacy issue. We gotta have some area that we can go to after a match and be able to go through our thoughts, go through our different emotions, and not feel like we’re being watched every second of the day. I don’t see any other sport right now having the access that tennis has, to the behind the scenes, like we have," Collins said on Tennis Channel's The Big T Podcast.
Gauff may not have been too happy to see her off-court racket smash being recorded, but she should be thrilled with the reactions from fellow players.
