Coco Gauff’s attempt to defend her first major title failed amid a barrage of double faults and she lost in three sets to fellow American Emma Navarro.

The result continued the unpredictable history of this US Open, which has already lost its two biggest male stars: Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

Gauff has been the most famous name in American tennis (at least among active players) since Serena Williams last played here two years ago, and she made good on her promise by winning the US Open last summer at just 19 years old.

At the time, Gauff’s breakthrough seemed to mark a turning point in her career and foreshadow a period in which she would win numerous trophies.

A year later, things haven’t worked out quite as well. Although Gauff remains one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour (she and Jasmine Paolini are the only women to have reached the fourth round of all four majors this season), she has only been able to add one title to her collection, at the relatively unremarkable season opener in Auckland.

Gauff’s ongoing technical problems were all too obvious against Navarro, a clean and consistent hitter who had also knocked her out of the match at the same stage at Wimbledon this summer.