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Coco Gauff's Miami Open Homecoming Ends in Heartbreak

Magda Linette upset Coco Gauff in the fourth round of the 2025 Miami Open.

Pat Benson

Mar 24, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Coco Gauff (USA) wipes her eye while leaving the court after her match against Magna Linette (POL) (not pictured) on day seven of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
Mar 24, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Coco Gauff (USA) wipes her eye while leaving the court after her match against Magna Linette (POL) (not pictured) on day seven of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Coco Gauff was met with a hero's welcome upon her return to South Florida for the second half of the Sunshine Double. Unfortunately for Gauff, her Miami Open homecoming ended in an unexpectedly early exit.

After losing their prior two meetings, unseeded Magda Linette upset the 3-seed Gauff in straight sets during their fourth-round match: 6-4, 6-4. Linette advances to the quarterfinal where she will meet Jasmine Paolini.

Meanwhile, Gauff will go back to the drawing board to try and fix the same issues that have plagued her over the past two months.

"It wasn't great today; it hasn't been the last two weeks, so I'm just trying to figure that out," Gauff said in her post-match press conference.

When asked what was wrong, Gauff stated the obvious - most everything. "Serve, return, forehand,  backhand, everything honestly," said Gauff. "Just one of those days I felt off on everything."

Gauff tallied 12 double faults and 45 unforced errors. The 21-year-old held back tears as she waved goodbye to the crowd full of supporters.

"It's just a series of not having great results and feeling confident on the court," admitted Gauff. The one-time Grand Slam champion failed to defend her US Open title last year but finished the year by winning the WTA Finals.

After a hot start in 2025, Gauff went winless through the Middle East swing and lost to an unseeded Belinda Bencic at Indian Wells. Gauff is currently the WTA World No. 3 with a record of 13-5.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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