Coco Gauff claps back at opponent’s husband for ridiculing her with his hat as the teenager won her quarterfinal match in the Australian Open
- Heorhii Kostyuk wore a hat with the text ‘shake your coconut’ in court on Monday
- Coco Gauff won the match in three sets, but lost in the semifinals on Wednesday
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After winning her Australian Open quarterfinal on Monday, Coco Gauff reacted when her opponent’s husband made fun of her about the hat he wore on court.
The teenage phenomenon took on Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the semi-finals. During the game, Kotsyuk’s husband, Heorhii, wore a hat that said “shake your coconut.”
In addition to shamelessly poking fun at her first name, the headpiece also featured an image of a coconut cracked in half.
Gauff ultimately defeated Kostyuk 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-2 in a three-hour match. Shortly after, she clapped back at Heorhii on Instagram.
“Shakey shake,” she wrote with a heart and laughing emoji alongside a clip of her win.
Coco Guaff responded to her opponent’s husband on Monday after winning her quarterfinal
Heorhii Kostyuk poked fun at Gauff by wearing a hat that said ‘shake your coconut’ on the track
Gauff wrote “shakey shake” on Instagram after beating Marta Kostyuk in a three-hour match
Kostyuk married Heorhii in Cyprus last November.
Despite her loss, Monday’s match marked the first quarterfinal of the Ukrainian Grand Slam.
On the other hand, Gauff admitted that despite the desirable result, she was not satisfied with her performance.
“Today was definitely a C game,” Gauff said. ‘I didn’t play my best tennis, but I’m proud that I got through it. Hopefully the bad match is over and I can play even better.
“I knew when I went in and played her it was going to be a tough match. She’s pretty athletic and we play pretty much the same. Today she was only more offensive, and I wish I had taken this insult from the beginning.”
Despite the loss, Monday’s match marked Kostyuk’s first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam
In Wednesday’s semifinal, Gauff lost a rematch to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
Gauff faced second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinals on Wednesday. The two previously faced off in September’s US Open final, where Gauff won 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 for her first major title.
Sabalenka got the best of Gauff in the rematch to advance to the final. By winning the match 7-6 (7-2) 6-4, she derailed Gauff’s hopes of winning the Australian Open as a teenager.
Sabelenka will face Qinweng Zheng for the title on Saturday.