Coco Gauff, the 21-year-old American tennis star, has made a bold coaching change ahead of the US Open 2025. After leading the WTA Tour with 320 double-faults this season, Gauff fired one of her coaches and hired serve specialist Gavin MacMillan. The biomechanics coach transformed Aryna Sabalenka’s serve into a weapon that fueled her rise to No.1.
“I do know I needed to make a change — technical change — to it, and I don’t want to waste time continuing doing the wrong things,” Gauff said Friday at Flushing Meadows, where she won her first Grand Slam title in 2023.
The US Open, the year’s last Grand Slam, begins Sunday. Gauff, determined to fix her serve, added, “I know where I want to see my game in the future. I’m not going to waste time playing the way I don’t want to play.”
Sabalenka’s Success With MacMillan
MacMillan famously rebuilt Aryna Sabalenka’s serve in 2022, helping her win three Grand Slam titles since then. Sabalenka, the defending US Open champion, praised his methods.
“I tried literally everything, and nothing would help me to fix my serve. It was the last step before I would say, ‘OK, bye-bye, tennis.’ I was so desperate, so I wasn’t really doubting my decision,” Sabalenka said Friday. “The moment we started working, I felt like, ‘OK, there is something. I definitely have a better feeling on my serve.’ And I just trusted the process, trusted myself. Like, the first tournament I played, I already felt the difference, and I felt, ‘OK, I’m getting there.’ So for me, it was just about repetitions, a little bit of time and full commitment to whatever he was saying.”
Gauff’s Double-Fault Struggles
Gauff’s double-fault issues have been alarming. Her 320 double-faults this season exceed the next-highest player by over 100. She averages 6.8 per match and recently hit 23 in a win against Danielle Collins in Montreal. That was followed by 14 in her next match, and 16 in a loss to Jasmine Paolini at Cincinnati.
At last year’s US Open, her title defense ended with 19 double-faults in a fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro. Soon after, she split with coach Brad Gilbert and added Matthew Daly, who is now gone.
“I just want to get better. I’m obsessed with the process of getting better. Sometimes, maybe it hurts, because I get obsessed with it too much,” Gauff said. “I feel like I have a clear future where I see myself, and I feel like I’m really close. I think this aspect of the game will bring everything together for me.”
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