Nobody is better at turning Plan B into straight A’s on a tennis court than Coco Gauff. The 21-year-old wunderkind has won a pair of major titles while playing tennis that she considered to be far from her best.
On the eve of her seventh US Open appearance, the 2023 champion is still hungry to find a missing link to take her game to the stratosphere. This year, said search begins with the serve, and Gauff is sparing no expense.
The Florida native has hired biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan, the man known for rescuing Aryna Sabalenka’s once-flailing delivery from the depths of despair, in the hopes that she too can escape the serving doldrums.
“For me, I just want to get better,” Gauff told reporters during the US Open’s Media Day on Friday in Flushing Meadows. “I'm obsessed with the process of getting better—sometimes maybe it hurts because I get obsessed with it too much.”
Gauff, who replaced coach Matt Daly but continues to work with coach Jean-Christophe Faurel, believes that adding MacMillan will be the key to unlocking her serve once and for all. That belief is no doubt buoyed by the results that the Canadian achieved with three-time major champion Sabalenka after the pair started working together in 2022.
“I was really desperate for changes,” Sabalenka told reporters on Friday. “I'm really grateful for his help during really tough times.”
Since those harrowing days, Sabalenka has turned her weakness into a strength. Why not Coco?
The 5-foot-9 Gauff, who can serve in the 120-mph range, wins fewer second-serve points than 46 of the WTA’s current Top 50 players. If the World No. 3 can shore up those numbers, she believes that her game will flow more freely in all aspects.
“I feel like I have a clear future where I see myself and I feel like I'm really close,” she said. “I think this aspect of the game will bring everything together for me.”
The American conducted a long practice session in the drizzle on Wednesday night at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, cranking serves while her team looked on. At times MacMillan approached Gauff and made recommendations.
Much was made of Gauff’s decision to tough out the session in swirling winds caused by Hurricane Erin, but the 21-year-old quickly brushed aside any lingering hyperbole on Friday.
“On social media, people made it seem like I was in a hurricane. It was literally drizzling,” she said with a laugh. “The courts weren't that wet.
“I wanted more reps, and the indoor courts were all booked.”
The hiring of MacMillan, who helped Sabalenka overcome an alarming propensity for double faults, definitely comes as a surprise. Especially the week before a major tournament, with the bright lights of New York City focused squarely on her shoulders.
But it’s a decision that the American felt she needed to make.
Plagued by double faults intermittently over the course of her career, including 23 in one match against Danielle Collins in Montreal earlier this month, Gauff believes she must finally put those troubles behind her.
“Obviously there is pressure on both of us,” she said. “But at the same time, I'm not thinking about the outside opinions. I'm doing what's best for my game.”
