Tennis Wimbledon Wimbledon Women's Singles -

Coco Gauff admits to panic after squandering match point with failed drop shot - but says Roger Federer and Jannik Sinner can be inspiration

React to this story

Coco Gauff has admitted she "panicked a little bit" after squandering match point with a failed drop shot in her Wimbledon semi-final against Karolina Muchova - but says Roger Federer and Jannik Sinner can be her inspiration.

Highlights: Muchova and Noskova reach Wimbledon final

Video credit: SNTV

Gauff - at 9-8 ahead in the deciding third-set tie-break - delivered an excellent first serve down the 'T' to set up the point.

Muchova did well to scramble a return, but it landed in the service box, in the middle of the court.

Gauff looked set to unload a forehand winner, but changed her mind in her preparation and attempted a drop shot - which did not clear the net.

Wimbledon

'It's an illness at this point' - The bizarre superstitions behind all-Czech final

6 hours ago

Gauff looked straight to her box and - as if to demonstrate what she should have done - performed a forehand motion.

Muchova went on to emerge victorious, 6-2 1-6 7-6(10), to reach her first Wimbledon final.

Given Gauff had never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon until this year, the tournament still represented a success for her, but one that ended on a difficult note.

In her post-match press conference, Gauff dissected the thought process on that critical, ill-fated point.

"There's one thing to be, like, 'why play a drop shot,' but then I think how many points I won off the drop shot," she said.

"Yes, people who don't watch tennis are going to be like 'Why did you do that?'

"At the end of the day, that's the choice I made. Was it the right one in that moment? Maybe not. But then also, if I make it, everyone's going to say how clutch of a shot that was. I think that's just tennis. You lose some points off margins.

"Honestly, the return came back in a tricky place for me. The bounce kind of caught me off guard. I just panicked a little bit.

Gauff on match point up v Muchova.
Image credit: TNT Sports

"I think it just takes moments like this to learn from, have more of a clear, concise plan of what I want to do. At the end of the day, I left it all out there.

"My only regret - or I don't have any regrets - I think it's just obviously points I want to make better decisions on. But that's how you learn and become a better player."

Tracy Austin, on BBC commentary, suggested Gauff had appeared to change her mind "about six times" on the shot, but the 22-year-old countered that suggestion.

"Honestly, I didn't change my mind too much," she added.

"I think I feel like if I had to do it over, I probably would have gone for a slice forehand down the line. The ball bounce wasn't really that high. Don't know if I would have hit a forehand or not, I have to watch it back honestly to say.

"It's tough because it was on my match point, but at the end of the day, if this point happens at 1-1 in the tie-breaker, we wouldn't be sitting here talking about it. But it happened on match point.

"It's a learning experience. I know I can do better and improve on that, and going with a higher-margin shot in a pressure moment, for sure."

Gauff, as she pointed out herself, is not the only player to have lost a high-profile tie having had a match point - and she cited two stars of the game who had to go through a similar ordeal.

"I'm going to think about it [the loss] tonight. I don't know if I've ever lost a match after having match point. If I did, I don't remember the last time," Gauff added.

"I don't know how long it will take me. I don't think that long, honestly. I think right after, I was a lot of emotions right after the match. But now I'm just, like, one decision away, maybe I'm sitting in this press conference in a different mood.

"I mean, I look at Roger [Federer], lost match points here [against Novak Djokovic in 2019], Jannik [Sinner] obviously at Roland-Garros [in 2025 against Carlos Alcaraz]. Every great champion has this happen in their career.

"Maybe this is something I need to be on their level."

Muchova will face fellow Czech Linda Noskova in Saturday's final after she beat Marta Kostyuk in straight sets.

Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this.

Enjoy daily highlights from Wimbledon 2026 on tntsports.co.uk and the TNT Sports app, plus watch and stream highlights each evening and the men's and women's singles finals live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Wimbledon