World No. 4 Coco Gauff cut a frustrated figure during her semifinal loss to Elina Svitolina at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday, February 21, 2026, with cameras picking up an emotional exchange with her coaching team.
Gauff went down 4-6, 7-6, 4-6 in a three-hour contest marked by long rallies and sudden momentum swings. One moment in the second set quickly became the talking point of the match. After serving another double fault, her 12th of the day, the 20-year-old turned toward her box and voiced her frustration, saying, “I’ve been doing everything you’ve wanted for the last six months and it’s gotten not better at all, bro.”
The comments appeared to be directed at her serving coach Gavin MacMillan, who previously collaborated with Aryna Sabalenka in 2022. Gauff struggled with double faults throughout the previous season and to stabilise that, MacMillan joined Gauff’s team last year to help address ongoing problems with her serve.
Although she showed resilience by saving four match points in a tense second-set tie-break, Gauff could not stop Svitolina’s surge in the deciding set. The Ukrainian, now 31, advanced to her first Dubai final in almost ten years.
For Gauff, the loss ended a promising run in Dubai but also highlighted her continuing struggle for consistency on serve, an issue that once again surfaced at a crucial stage.
Svitolina will face Jessica Pegula in the final after Pegula fought back to defeat Amanda Anisimova 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.