Serena Williams’ childhood coach Rick Macci believes there is a very easy fix to Coco Gauff’s serving issues as the 69-year-old thinks the American just needs to hire a biomechanics trainer to determine what is exactly wrong and how it should be addressed.
Anyone who has been following tennis for the past couple of months is well aware that the 20-year-old has been dealing with major struggles on her serve. And that has been one of the biggest reasons why she didn’t get the results she was hoping for in some of the major tournaments that took place this past summer.
At the start of the Asian swing, Gauff managed to win Beijing and it was a promising sign that better days were coming. Then, she also reached the Wuhan semifinal. From up by a set and three times by a break in the second set, the world No. 4 managed to lose that match after blasting 21 double faults as Aryna Sabalenka recovered to win 1-6 6-4 6-4.
It was the highest number of double faults that the 2023 US Open champion delivered in a single match in her career and also the record for the most double faults hit in a WTA Tour match this season.
“Coco and her second serve can be fixed in less than 1 hour. Once that is biomechanically rewired and that is in the EYE of the BEHOLDER the mental game overall becomes BOLDER. @CocoGauff,” Macci wrote on X.
Coco and her second serve can be fixed in less than 1 hour. Once that is biomechanically rewired and that is in the EYE of the BEHOLDER the mental game overall becomes BOLDER. @CocoGauff
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) October 13, 2024
Gauff was asked if she would be willing to turn to biomechanics for help
One of the most interesting Tour stories over the last couple of years has been Sabalenka’s turnaround from appearing to hit rock bottom to becoming a dominant force. Just like Gauff currently, the Belarusian was having major troubles in her serve in 2022 and sprayed a total of 428 double faults during that year.
Then, she figured out to see a biomechanics coach. Since then, the 26-year-old has won three Grand Slams and reached the world No. 1 in the world.
After Gauff delivered a lackluster serving performance during a US Open round-of-16 loss to Emma Navarro, a reporter brought up the Sabalenka case and asked if she would also look into the prospect of hiring a biomechanics coach.
“Yeah. I mean, for sure. Yeah, I definitely want to get other opinions because, you know — and also I think it’s sometimes more of an emotional, mental thing because if I go out on the practice court right now, I would make, like, 30 serves in a row. I’ve done it before. I think it’s also just kind of a mental hurdle that I have to get over when it comes with that. But, yeah, I definitely want to look at other things because I don’t want to lose matches like this anymore,” the American said in early September.
Coco Gauff© Wuhan Open/Instagram – Fair Use
On what Gauff blamed hitting 21 double faults?
After the US Open, the 20-year-old moved on from coach Brad Gilbert and hired Matt Daly. Following her disastrous serving display in a Wuhan semifinal loss, she shared that she was experimenting with a new serve and that she wanted to be committed to it.
“New things. Yeah, working on a new thing. It’s expected. I only had really a week to learn it, then I went to Beijing. I knew it wasn’t going to be great. I’m honestly, like, surprised of how well I was able to do with it. We weren’t expecting it. So yeah, I mean, overall it’s growing pains, ups and downs. Like, vice versa to Beijing. I had a day in between every day to work on it, whereas here it was kind of back-to-back. I think it was progressively just becoming harder because I got used to getting those reps in between the matches in Beijing,” Gauff said.
While the American’s serving struggles basically allowed Sabalenka to get back into the match, the current world No. 2 still felt very sorry for the American because she was once in a similar position.
“I was playing that match thinking, like, ‘Well, girl, I feel you. I feel you like nobody else.’ I know what she’s going through. This is really difficult. This is really tough. But I know that if she’ll be able to overcome this serve situation, she already one of the best players, but I’m pretty sure she’s going to be one of the greatest players,” Sabalenka said.
In Wuhan, Gauff indicated that she will likely return home to Florida to get some rest but also prepare there for the upcoming WTA Finals, which starts in Riyadh on November 2nd.