Serena Williams extended support to tennis star Coco Gauff after a video of her smashing a racket on the floor went viral on the internet.Gauff, after her defeat to Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open Quarterfinals on January 27, went behind a wall near the court, which was inside the venue, to smash her racket. Coco Gauff, while defending her action, mentioned that she was unaware that the area had cameras and that the footage would be broadcast.After receiving widespread backlash for her action, Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian shared a tweet extending support to Gauff and said,"NGL I love this energy and emotion from @CocoGauff - we love sports because it's raw, because these athletes put their ALL into the battle and sometimes (like life) you don't win. Media are gonna spin this private moment for a headline to get some clicks, but Coco did nothing wrong here."Williams reshared her husband's tweet and said,"Wel said. @alexisohanian Passion. Caring. Matters. Nothing wrong with hating to lose. Now Coco when you want I can show you how to demolish in one swipe...Serena style."How did Coco Gauff react to the viral video of her smashing her racketCoco Gauff, while speaking to reporters, defended her action and said that she deliberately tried to find a space where she believed cameras wouldn't be positioned. She also added that she needed to let frustration out, and that she's allowed to express her emotions,"I tried to go somewhere where there they wouldn't broadcast it, but obviously they did. Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room."Gauff argued that if she hadn't expressed her frustration the way she did, she would have projected those emotions on her team, which she believes would have been unfair."I just took the minute to go and do that. I don't think it's a bad thing. Like I said, I don't try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion."Gauff committed 26 unforced errors and lost the match to Elina Svitolina at 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes. Coco Gauff's defeat marks the second consecutive year she has been eliminated in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. In the 2025 edition, she lost to Paula Badosa.