Coco Gauff endured another early setback at the Qatar Open after a shock second-round defeat in Doha, while top seed Iga Swiatek and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina progressed smoothly to the last 16.
The fourth-seeded American, who had a first-round bye, was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto, a lucky loser ranked 57th in the world. It marked the second straight year Gauff has been eliminated in her opening match at the WTA 1000 event. She was not alone in exiting early, with sixth seed Jasmine Paolini and eighth-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova also crashing out.
Cocciaretto’s victory was just the third top-10 win of her career and set up a third-round meeting with Ann Li. The Italian credited inspiration from her close friend, Olympic skier Sofia Goggia, who won bronze in the women’s downhill at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Cocciaretto said the pair regularly exchange messages and advice, adding that she admires the fearless, focused mindset of elite skiers.
Former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari dismissed Paolini 6-4, 6-2 to book a last-16 clash with Varvara Gracheva, while former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko recorded the same scoreline against Alexandrova.
Swiatek, playing her first match since her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Rybakina, was in commanding form as she swept past Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-0, 6-3, conceding just eight points in the opening set. The six-time Grand Slam winner will next face Daria Kasatkina for a place in the quarterfinals, having won their last six meetings without dropping a set. Swiatek, however, played down past results, saying she expects a fresh challenge.
Rybakina continued her strong run with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Wang Xinyu and will meet another Chinese opponent, Zheng Qinwen, in the next round. World No. 3 Rybakina has not faced Zheng since losing to her in the group stage of the 2024 WTA Finals.
Elsewhere, Australian Open semifinalist Elina Svitolina and rising Canadian talent Victoria Mboko also advanced to the third round.
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