There may have been doubts in some quarters around Coco Gauff’s game leading into Australian Open 2026, with her service game raising more questions than usual.
However, on Sunday afternoon, she cemented herself as a leading challenger at AO 2026 with a statement victory over 19th-seeded Czech, Karolina Muchova, 6-1 3-6 6-3.
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A mouthwatering fourth-round clash, pitting all-court variety against aggressive and explosive shot-making, this match was billed as the reinvigorated Gauff’s biggest test yet.
Following her third-round victory over friend and compatriot Hailey Baptiste, a player with a similar style to Muchova, Gauff claimed that she needed to take the learnings from Friday’s encounter and use them on Sunday.
And that’s what she did. The world No.3 produced an all-court masterclass of her own, needing just 30 minutes to claim the opening set 6-1.
Muchova brought the challenge to Gauff in the second set, with her ball speed and variety forcing the American to hit her returns long. Consecutive love-holds from the world No.19 forced a deciding set.
However, Gauff weathered the storm long enough to go all-out in the third set. Like her third-set gameplan against Baptiste on Friday, she simply got more first serves in, advancing to a third-straight quarterfinal at Melbourne Park.
“My history has been tough with my serve, but I thought today was great,” she said. “Maybe one service game in the second set [I was not], but after that I was pretty good. I’m really happy with just being able to close it out on my racquet.”
With another three-set triumph, Gauff takes her record to 21-6 in Grand Slam matches that go the distance. She believes her youth could be the secret behind her success.
“I don’t know, I don’t get tired yet, I’m 21, so maybe that’s why,” she joked. “I think today I didn’t panic. I felt like the second set could have easily went my way, so I knew I just had to capitalise on those chances in the third set, and I did that.”
She becomes the youngest female to reach three-consecutive Australian Open singles quarterfinals since Maria Sharapova made four quarterfinals between 2005 and 2008.
A showcase of her consistency, this year, Gauff is aiming to better her run to the semifinals at AO 2024, where she fell to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
But could her win over Muchova provide an omen for the 21-year-old? Boasting a 4-0 record against Muchova, Gauff has won all four tournaments where she has played the Czech No.2 – Cincinnati 2023, US Open 2023, Beijing 2024, and United Cup 2025.
Could this be the year Gauff adds the Australian Open to her honour roll? Her confidence will play a huge role in turning that dream into a reality.
“I think just trusting my shots [is how I gain confidence],” she said. “I get a little passive, but overall, I think that in that last game, I was trusting my second serve, which I feel like is a steppingstone in the right direction to be able to hit as many second serves in the court that I did.
“I think that’s the biggest thing is just trusting myself, knowing that I put in the work in practice and knowing that it’ll show up in the matches.”