Coco Gauff described the challenge of staying healthy at the Madrid Open after she reached the fourth round despite vomiting on court and battling a virus that has swept through the locker room.
Gauff admitted she thought she would avoid the illness, saying: "I think I got a little cocky because I've been at tournaments where there were viruses and I never got it. I saw it going around, I was like, 'I'm not going to get it.' And then here I am."
The American star highlighted the difficulty of avoiding sickness in such an environment: "It's hard because you don't know who's sick, who's not. I do a good job at using hand sanitiser and washing my hands and wiping my mats and stuff before I use them. But sometimes some things are just hard to avoid when you're all in a big building like this and have to pass each other and use the same equipment. Hopefully everybody's all good by Rome."
Illness Affects Multiple Players
Several players have been affected by the virus, with Madison Keys, Liudmila Samsonova, and Marin Cilic all ending their tournaments early. Corentin Moutet said he was sick after his second-round loss, and Karolina Pliskova also felt unwell during her win over Elise Mertens.
Iga Swiatek was the most high-profile retirement, pulling out in the third round against Ann Li. "There is something going on between players that the virus is somewhere on site, so I'm sure I'll be fine in a couple of days, but I had zero energy and zero stability," said Swiatek.
Gauff's Fightback
Gauff appeared headed for a similar fate when she vomited while trailing Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 3-4. She called the trainer, received medication for nausea, and recovered to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Viruses spreading among players at tournaments is not uncommon due to shared communal areas and equipment. Earlier rumours blamed shrimp tacos from the player dining, but players have been told the event is affected by a general virus in the city.
Gauff laughed off the shrimp taco theory: "I didn't eat the shrimp, so I don't think it was that. I think it's just a virus going around between the city, and then I think the players got it. I think I got it from another player that was sick and their locker's close to mine, so I probably got it from that player. But, yeah, what can you do except just try to get through it? It's the first time I've gotten sick since I've been on tour, so I'm not too upset. It's, like, whatever."
