Cocciaretto upsets Gauff in Doha; into WTA 1000 last 16 for first time

Lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto scored the third Top 10 win of her career — and first outside a Grand Slam — with a 6-4, 6-2 upset of No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in the Qatar TotalEnergies Open second round. The Italian advances to the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event for the first time.

Doha: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Cocciaretto’s previous Top 10 wins had come over Petra Kvitova at Roland Garros 2023 and Jessica Pegula at Wimbledon 2025, but she had not won a set from Gauff in three previous professional meetings. However, she did have a junior win over the American to draw on, having defeated her 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 at the Australian Open in 2018.

The result continues Cocciaretto’s stellar season so far — one in which she has used the qualifying rounds as a springboard to success. In January, she captured her second WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz title as a qualifier in Hobart. This week, she fell in the final round of qualifying to Varvara Gracheva, but entered the main draw as a lucky loser following McCartney Kessler’s withdrawal.

The 25-year-old will next face another American, Ann Li, with a maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal at stake for both players.

More to come…