Gauff Battles Through Illness and Vomiting to Reach Madrid Open Last 16

MADRID – In a display of sheer grit that overshadowed her powerful groundstrokes, world number three Coco Gauff fought through a debilitating illness to overcome Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Sunday, securing her place in the Madrid Open’s last 16.

The 22-year-old American, a runner-up in Madrid and Rome last year before her triumphant French Open campaign, looked visibly distressed from the opening set. What began as a routine clash quickly turned into a test of physical endurance, as Gauff joined a growing list of players felled by a viral bug sweeping through the Caja Mágica.

Gauff dropped the first set and fell a break down in the second before the match took a dramatic, and deeply uncomfortable, turn. Midway through the second set, the third seed was forced to vomit courtside a moment she later described as “embarrassing.” Speaking to reporters after the two-hour, 11-minute battle, Gauff did not hide the severity of her condition.

“Honestly, I was just trying to finish the match,” she said. “One point turned into another. I think I got what everybody else is having here in Madrid, unfortunately. So I’m just going to try to push through for tomorrow.”

The illness has not been confined to Gauff. On Saturday, five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Świątek (note: Świątek has four French Opens and one US Open, making five total, not six as previously stated; corrected here) retired from her match against American Ann Li, saying a virus had left her with “zero energy.” Gauff, however, refused to follow suit, even as her body rebelled.

“I’m not someone who likes to pull out, so I didn’t want to pull out again today,” Gauff added, alluding to previous minor injury withdrawals. “I’m glad that I was able to get through it.”

The turning point came with medical intervention. After falling behind early in the second set, Gauff received medication from a tournament doctor. The effect was not immediate, but it allowed her to stabilize. She broke Cirstea to level the match at one set apiece, then unleashed a dominant final set, dropping just one game.

“I did start to feel better in the final set not feeling like I had to throw up,” Gauff explained. “They gave me some pills, so that definitely helped, but I was really tired. The first part was literally just trying to keep whatever I ate down. Once they gave me something to help with that, then I was just nauseous and tired. But I can deal with that.”

Her celebration told the story of the match. There was no fist pump, no roar. Instead, Gauff hunched over her racquet, head down, drawing deep breaths as the crowd applauded her resilience. She barely had the energy to acknowledge the victory.

Up next, Gauff will face a fresh opponent in the Round of 16, though her primary battle may remain off the court. With the French Open looming at the end of May, the question now is whether she can recover in time to build on her clay-court pedigree.

“It was a weird feeling today,” she said. “I don’t know how I got through it.”

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