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Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff was eliminated in the round of 16

Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff was eliminated in the round of 16

The 2024 US Open will be one Coco Gauff would like to forget sooner rather than later.

The defending champion failed to advance past the round of 16 on Sunday afternoon, losing to fellow American Emma Navarro, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Navarro took charge in the first set, and the second was a back-and-forth battle from the start. With the set tied at three, Navarro broke Gauff's serve to go up 4-3, putting Gauff in a tough spot.

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Coco Gauff is shown after a mistake during her match against Emma Navarro at the US Open. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)

But it wasn't enough, as Gauff returned the favor by breaking Navarro's serve. Gauff took a 5-4 lead and then broke Navarro's serve again to take the match into a third set.

Gauff won the first game, with all signs pointing to her team being on a roll, but that was not to be as Navarro took the next three. The two alternated games and Navarro went 5-3 up with Gauff serving, but that was not much of an advantage for the defending champion, who double-faulted three times to help Navarro advance to the quarterfinals.

Coco Gauff is shown after a mistake during her match against Emma Navarro at the US Open. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)

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Gauff committed 19 double faults in the match, 11 of them in the final set. After the last one, she threw her racket to the ground in anger.

It is the second consecutive Grand Slam that she has lost in the round of 16 after having advanced at least to the semi-finals in the previous three. It is also the sixth consecutive year that the reigning champion has failed to reach the quarter-finals. No reigning champion has reached a semi-final since Serena Williams in 2015.

Navarro will face Paula Badosa of Spain on Tuesday, her second straight quarter-final in what has been a breakthrough year for the 23-year-old, who had never made it past the second round of a grand slam until this year.