Coco Gauff's umbrella was destroyed as she waited out a rain delay during her semi-final clash against
Jessica Pegula at the 2023
WTA Finals in Cancun.
The World No. 3 has seen a lot of success this season, the highlight of which was winning her first-ever Grand Slam title at the US Open in September. As a result, the American player qualified comfortably for the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
Once there, Gauff won her first match against Ons Jabeur with ease, 6-0, 6-1, before losing to Iga Swiatek 0-6, 5-7. However, she won her third Group Stage match against Marketa Vondrousova to progress to the semi-finals at the prestigious season-ending championships.
Gauff's umbrella chaos shows extent of bad weather
Once there, the 19-year-old took on her compatriot and doubles partner Pegula. After the former lost the first set 2-6, her opponent had already consolidated a break and was leading 2-0 in the second when rain caused the match to be delayed for 14 minutes.
In that time, the wind was so strong that Gauff's umbrella was turned inside out and broken. In a video of the incident, she can be seen smiling in resignation as a helper comes over to resolve the issue.
This is not the only time that play has been suspended due to rain at the tournament. Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka's Group Stage clash took place over two days after rain forced the players off the court in the second set.
Following this, Sabalenka's semi-final match against Iga Swiatek was supposed to conclude yesterday, November 4, but was suspended just three games in and will continue later today, Sunday, November 5. This means that the final has been postponed until Monday.
Although Gauff ultimately lost her clash with Pegula, fans were able to see the funny side of this specific umbrella-related moment.
"Coco's face of acceptance at this point," wrote one on X, followed by a laugh-till-cry emoji.
"Dan Powter's [song] Bad Day would've been a great song choice in that moment," commented another.
"Coco Gauff’s got a future at The Weather Channel after her tennis playing career is over if she wants it…" joked another.