Coco Gauff serves up alarming statistics as she crashes out of Miami Open

Gauff is one of the most recognisable faces in American sport and that celebrity status adds to the attention that shines on her when she plays on home soil.

Yet she struggled to find her best form in an alarmingly error-strewn performance against Linette, with Gauff throwing in 12 double faults and 45 unforced errors in a wayward display.

"It wasn't great today," conceded Gauff. "It hasn't been the last few weeks. I'm trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it. Just one of those days when I felt awful in everything on the court."

Gauff has enjoyed some notable successes since her US Open title defence ended when her serve fell apart in New York last year, with her win in the WTA Finals a perfect end to her 2024 season.

Yet the serving issues continue to be a major concern and this was a performance that gifted 33-year-old Linette far too many free points.

Linette broke Gauff four times and took care of her own serve, only getting broken twice as she secured a deserved win.

"It's a massive achievement for me to beat Coco," said Linette, who is the world No 34. "She's so tough, even on her worse days, she's so, so tough.

"I was returning really well and I think she was feeling a little bit of pressure. The key point was keeping my first serve and I'm really glad I was ready to do that."

Polish player Linette will now take on Jasmine Paolini in the next round and she leads her head-to-head meetings with the Italian 2-1, including an impressive win at last year's Olympic Games.

"She's a very consistent player. Forehand, backhand, serve, she is complete. I have to be aggressive, make less mistakes and move as good as I did today."

Gauff will now have time to consider her next move and attempt to rebuild her confidence which has clearly been shaken by her inconsistent form over the last few months.

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