{"id":526578,"date":"2026-03-08T10:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526578\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T10:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:40:09","slug":"the-angriest-room-in-tennis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526578\/","title":{"rendered":"The Angriest Room in Tennis"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. \u2014 Coco Gauff thought nobody could see her.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old star had just lost in straight sets at the Australian Open, and she had some frustrations to unload. The target was a classic: her racket, which she smashed against a ramp repeatedly until it was gnarled and unusable. But the entire thing was broadcast on ESPN seconds later, taking Gauff aback.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertain moments \u2026 I feel like they don\u2019t need to broadcast,\u201d Gauff said<\/a> after the incident. \u201cI tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn\u2019t a camera because I don\u2019t necessarily like breaking rackets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly afterward, U.S. tennis players Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk discussed the backstage cameras at the Australian Open on their podcast, The Player\u2019s Box.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should just set up a room, like a rage room, and you just hit stuff,\u201d Pegula said with a laugh. Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion, advocated for additional private areas. \u201cMaybe we can talk to tournaments about it: secluded, private, post-match loss meltdown rooms.\u201d Keys said on the Feb. 3 episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At least one tennis tournament was listening, and the idea is catching on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The WTA 250 event in Austin launched the \u201cRage Room<\/a>\u201d last week, a designated area without cameras where they said players are free to \u201cprivately express frustration or emotion in a safe, camera-free environment.\u201d In other words, a place to throw a temper tantrum without risk of judgment.<\/p>\n

Front Office Sports asked several players about the concept at Indian Wells this week; they were unanimously in favor of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should book one of those and actually like break plates and stuff, that would be probably more fun than a racket,\u201d Gauff said.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka called it a \u201ccool\u201d idea, and joked that \u201cthere will be nothing to destroy\u201d after she uses the room. \u201cI would be there the whole day.\u201d (Sabalenka had her own infamous racket smash<\/a> caught on a backstage camera following a loss at the 2023 US Open final.)<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s world No. 8 Ben Shelton had not heard of the Rage Room when asked about it at Indian Wells, but he said he\u2019d \u201cprobably\u201d use the room if it was available. \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve got some anger, for sure,\u201d he told FOS.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Susan Mullane-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

And Pegula confirmed the ATX Open got the idea from her directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tournament director emailed me and was like, \u2018Hey, we have this Rage Room idea from your podcast. Are you interested?\u2019\u201d Pegula told FOS in an interview. Pegula, a member of the WTA Players\u2019 Council who was recently named chair of the Tour Architecture Council, said this somewhat shows that tournament officials are \u201clistening to the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s world No. 5 player was a last-minute withdrawal from the ATX Open, which she won last year, after winning the Dubai Tennis Championships, a WTA 1000 event, days before the Texas tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, I pulled out of Austin, so I didn\u2019t really experience [the Rage Room], which is probably a good thing,\u201d Pegula said while laughing.<\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s Instagram post of the room appeared to be from inside a tent and showed a poster that read \u201cDON\u2019T SMILE\u201d with a broken racket. It\u2019s unclear whether anyone took advantage of it.<\/p>\n

The tournament did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Gauff first heard that Austin had a \u201cRage Room,\u201d she assumed it was fake. \u201cMy mom sent it to me, and I told her it was AI. She believes so many AI things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon finding out the room was the real deal, Gauff said she\u2019d \u201cdefinitely\u201d use it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have ones, I think here,\u201d Gauff said in response to a question by FOS. A BNP Paribas Open representative told FOS the tournament does not have an official \u201cRage Room.\u201d But because the event is not broadcast by ESPN, there are fewer cameras and more quiet areas for players.<\/p>\n

Former women\u2019s world No. 3 Maria Sakkari told FOS she\u2019s never broken a racket after a match, but she has other emotions she prefers not to be televised. \u201cYou always want to have a little space to maybe either cry or just sit on your own or have a chat with your team. You\u2019re always worried to have cameras around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Teresa Fletcher, program director at Adler University\u2019s Sport and Human Performance program, says the concept would be a welcome addition to the tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cRage is not the only strong emotion they have to use that room,\u201d Fletcher said. \u201cIt might be just extreme sadness, and they just break down and cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though regardless of the room\u2019s name or primary purpose, Fletcher said it\u2019s \u201chealthy\u201d for athletes to have a place away from the spotlight to immediately release their intense emotions.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery reaction is kind of normal, right? We feel what we feel when we feel it,\u201d Fletcher said. \u201cThese young athletes are trying to be healthy in an environment that\u2019s not conducive to wellness. The last thing we need to do is judge somebody for taking care of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n