"Other players would love to have the summer I had... I expect better" - Coco Gauff on her 'disappointing' loss to Emma Navarro in US Open 2024 4R

Defending champion Coco Gauff weighed in on her loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the 2024 US Open on Sunday, September 1. She won the title last year by defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Gauff was seeded third in the ongoing tournament and started strong by defeating Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-0 and Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-0 in the first and second rounds, respectively. She then registered a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over 27th seed Elina Svitolina in the third round.

However, Coco Gauff's title defense at Flushing Meadows ended when she lost 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 to 13th seed Emma Navarro in the fourth round.

During the post-match press conference, Gauff expressed her disappointment at the loss. She said losing in the fourth round of the US Open and having a lukewarm North American hard-court swing was not something she expected.

The 20-year-old had a decent first half in the 2024 season. She began by defending her title at the ASB Classic, reaching the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and Italian Open, and winning the women's doubles French Open title.

The World No. 3 claimed that several players would have loved to have the season she's had. Coco Gauff was the female flag bearer for the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she represented her country in tennis. She also reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and French Open, along with fourth-round appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open.

“I guess for me, yeah, it's not the summer that I want. I feel like there's, like, 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had even though it's my least probably done well during this time of the year. So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to make the Olympics. So many people want to be flag bearer. It's perspective,” Coco Gauff said.

Coco Gauff said despite the decent results and good moments she had this year, she expected much more from herself and exuded confidence in turning her fortune around.

“Obviously because I'm wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing, but I'm not going to beat myself up and be, like, this was so bad. Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around,” she added.

Emma Navarro to face Paula Badosa in US Open 2024 QF following her win over Coco Gauff

Following her win over Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the 2024 US Open, Emma Navarro will take on 26th seed Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals.

Navarro began her campaign by defeating the likes of Anna Blinkova and Arantxa Rus in the first two rounds. She then triumphed over Marta Kostyuk in the third round and Coco Gauff in the fourth to secure her spot in the quarterfinals, her best result at Flushing Meadows to date.

Meanwhile, Paula Badosa kicked off her journey at the New York Slam by defeating Viktorija Golubic in the first round. She then moved past Taylor Townsend and qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second and third rounds, respectively. Most recently, she defeated Wang Yafan in the fourth round to advance to the last eight.

Emma Navarro and Paula Badosa have faced each other only once on the WTA Tour. In the second round of the 2024 Italian Open, the Spaniard won 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.