“Coco has 430 double faults in 71 matches so far” – Serena Williams’ childhood mentor, Rick Macci, analyzed Coco Gauff’s serving woes after her straight-set loss to Jasmine Paolini in the 2025 Italian Open final. Macci has been the most outspoken one when it comes to highlighting Gauff’s biggest flaws in her game. Previously, he said her serve was “biomechanically disconnected“, but he assured her “the second serve can be fixed in less than 1 hour.” But after seeing her commit 16 double faults in the SF against Qinwen Zheng, he looked a bit concerned about this “young warrior“. In the final match, Gauff committed 7 double faults, and according to Macci, the problem isn’t in the toss or grip, but in a critical “vertical component” that’s disrupting her timing and delivery. While Gauff makes “winning ugly” a habit, is there a way out to solve her “double trouble“? Well, another tennis legend, Jimmy Connors, has something to say about this.
If we take a look at the numbers, in her six matches in Rome, Coco Gauff has committed nearly 42 double faults! So, despite managing to reach two consecutive finals (the previous one was in Madrid), the high number of double faults in her game seems to be taking away all the limelight from her. During a recent episode of the ‘Advantage Connors’, Jimmy Connors was asked if he thinks Gauff has a lot of room for improvement.
Interestingly, while replying to this question, Connors made it clear what Gauff’s inner circle has to do to improve her daunting flaw. He said, “You know, but I would think the coaches and those around her, you know, would be straightforward enough to say, listen, this is where you are playing like this, you know, and look at what would happen if you wouldn’t do that, you know, which is make so many errors, you know, and make your opponent earn it a little bit more, as opposed to, you know, giving too many free points away.“
Coco Gauff *** Coco Gauff Copyright: xJuergenxHasenkopfx
Previously, during the early phases of the 2024 season, Coco Gauff’s ex-coach brought in one of the finest servers in the sport, Andy Roddick to the team to have a look at the areas of improvement in her serve. Speaking on this topic about the never-ending woes of the 21-year-old American, Jim Courier said, “Many have tried. Andy spent some time with her, trying to help her as well. A lot of it comes down to the ball toss position. I’ve felt, at times, when [she hits] her second serve, the ball toss is a little too far forward and you can’t really go up at it.“
What does Roddick have to say on this? Hearing Courier’s words, the former world number one chimed in saying, “I think Jim is absolutely right. I’ve watched her step, three feet from her, she’s ripping it, and the net’s not even in play in practice, right? I think it’s just a matter of training that mentality, you kinda have to hit the bottom of the ball a little bit, or at least have the mentality to create speed and margin by kind of rolling over from the bottom.”
With the French Open rolling in within a few days time, it’s high time for Coco Gauff to put her full focus on making a few adjustments with her serving woes in order to avoid such near misses. What does she have to say about her constant trouble, though?
“I could have served better” – Coco Gauff analyses her performance in the Italian Open final
Coco Gauff tends to commit double faults at the crucial moments of the matches, and this tendency has now drawn severe scrutiny from tennis experts. We’ve heard what Brad Gilbert, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, and Andy Roddick had to say on this. Recently, Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs, who has also been following Gauff’s game closely, came up with some suggestions.
According to her, “I think her elbow gets super low and sort of so close to her body. The left arm jumps down. There are so many little technical things that are going to be a problem for her going forward forever.” A lot of reactions and suggestions have been coming on this recently, but what does Gauff have to say about her constant struggles with her serve?
After losing the match to Paolini, Gauff stated, “Jasmine played I think great tennis today. I think it was one of her best levels today. I also didn’t play my best level. I think it’s both. It’s not to discredit my opponent. She forced me to play that way. Yeah, maybe I could have served better and put more balls in the court, could play better. I definitely could and can. I think for me I guess, yeah, with the double-faults, it’s something I know I have to improve and do better. If I want to make it to the next level, it’s definitely something I have to improve.”
Despite these errors, Gauff still somehow managed to reach two consecutive finals (Madrid and Rome). Is that a big boost ahead of her mission in Roland Garros? Coco Gauff reached the finals of the French Open in 2022, in 2023, she reached the QF, and in 2024, she reached the SF. Speaking about her chances in this year’s edition, she said, “I think it’s both confidence and motivation to do better. Hopefully, I can get to the final in Roland Garros and maybe the ‘third time is a charm’ thing is a real thing. That’s looking so far ahead.“
Recently, Gauff shared an update on her recovery process amid a grueling clay court swing. She went for an ice bath session to reduce pain and lower inflammation and shared a glimpse of that recovery session, highlighting -140 degrees temperature. Gauff looks determined to keep her incredible run intact in Paris as well. Do you think she has a chance of winning the French Open title this year?
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