Coco Gauff chose not to do a press conference after suffering a shock defeat in her opening match at the Cincinnati Open.

The American was the defending champion but she crashed out to Yulia Putintseva 6-4 2-6 6-4, losing the last four games in a row.

She then skipped her media duties but provided quotes through the WTA Tour, criticising her own performance.

Gauff is going through a difficult period with her game. She entered all three draws at the recent Olympics – singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles – and had a good chance at winning a medal across all of the categories. But she left Paris empty-handed.

The 20-year-old lost in her second match in Canada last week. And her Cincinnati title defence is now over almost as quickly as it started after she was ousted in the opening round. Following another early exit, Gauff declined to do a post-match press conference at the WTA 1000 event.

The current world No. 2 – who will now drop a spot in next week’s rankings – still addressed her performance as she provided thoughts to the WTA. And she wasn’t happy.

“It was not the best match for me. I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2,” she said, referring to the lead she lost in the final set. “I think most of the points she won were off my errors.

“She’s always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball. She has drop shots, slice. She’s kind of someone that makes you earn the match.”

Gauff must now prepare for another title defence – her biggest yet. The American is the reigning champion at the US Open after winning her maiden Grand Slam tournament last year on home soil.