Coco Gauff offered high praise for her competitor following her three-set loss to Elena Rybakina in the 2026 US Open semifinals.

"I think Elena is probably not nonchalant because she’s not nonchalant… but you know, just no reaction ever," Gauff said with a smile, describing how Rybakina stood tall against a fiercely partisan New York crowd.

After winning her opening set, Gauff ultimately fell 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Rybakina. But it was far from an easy win for Rybakina.  She had to overcome not just Gauff's opening-set win but 23,771 partisan fans. But Gauff said Rybakina never seemed to let that pressure show.

"I’m sure it may appear that way, but we’re all feeling nerves. How much of that she lets get to her, we don’t know. And I think that’s the strength of her. You can never see what she’s feeling," Gauff said, per a video shared by The Tennis Letter on X.

The pressure inside the arena was unmistakable. Yet, as Rybakina held her nerve and seized match point, Arthur Ashe Stadium began to empty out almost immediately.

Before Rybakina could even grab the microphone for her post-match on-court interview, whole sections of seats were already vacant and heartbroken fans headed straight for the exits.

"But for sure, she’s human. So she’s feeling nerves and all the things we all feel. She’s dealt with this on more than one occasion. She has the experience," Gauff added.

Indeed, playing the villain against a fan favourite is familiar territory for Rybakina.

In the 2022 Wimbledon final, she beat Ons Jabeur in front of a Centre Court crowd desperate to see Jabeur become the first Arab and first African woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.

A year later, she walked into a packed 15,000-seat Centre Court as the lone roadblock facing Britain’s Katie Boulter, the home nation's last hope, and dismantled her 6-1, 6-1.

Both times, like Thursday, Rybakina simply refused to let the noise change how she played.

Elena Rybakina reacts to playing spoiler again at the US Open

Rybakina didn't shy away from the reality of the night once it was over. Asked directly what it felt like to spoil the hometown favorite's run, she said that a lot of people wanted Coco to win and that it's 'normal.'

She also gave an honest read on how the atmosphere shifted across the match. Early on, she said, it felt like a genuinely enjoyable session.

It was only in the closing stages, as Gauff pushed into the third set, that the crowd fully turned into Coco's corner. Rybakina said she tried to block it out and focus on her own game.

And in the end, she had nothing but respect for Gauff once the handshake was done.

"Coco, she’s a great player. It’s always tough to play against her," Rybakina said, per a video shared by ESPN on YouTube. "Even if sometimes her first serve doesn’t go, the second one is so heavy, it’s difficult to dictate the rallies."

Written by

Md Saife Fida