Andy Roddick Praises Coco Gauff’s Rare Ability to Survive Tough Periods on Tour
Coco Gauff will open her 2026 campaign at the United Cup in Perth, Australia alongside Taylor Fritz.
Follow Us
Andy Roddick and Coco Gauff (via X/Forbes/Coco Gauff)
🔍 Explore this post with:
Former Grand Slam winner Andy Roddick has offered his assessment of Coco Gauff’s game heading into the 2026 season. Gauff, who kept her place in the top 3 of the WTA rankings for the third consecutive season, managed to win just two titles, including the French Open in 2025.
For most of the season, Gauff failed to earn victories in decisive moments. Although she maintained a good momentum throughout the season, things began to go badly on the court. The American No.1, who was known for winning matches, began to rack up unforced errors in matches, which was uncharacteristic of her.
During the Canadian Open, she racked up over 60 unforced errors before losing to eventual champion Victoria Mboko. Things didn’t get better for her at the Cincinnati Open, which led her to split with Matt Daly just a year after working together. Gauff then hired Aryna Sabalenka’s former biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan.
The arrival of MacMillan brought more attention to her game, especially at the US Open. She had to wait until the Wuhan Open to claim her first title under her new coach. But yet again, she failed to maintain the momentum, which led to her crashing out of the WTA Finals in the round-robin stage.
During a conversation on the Served podcast, Andy Roddick analyzed that she remains one of the few players who can grind a result when she’s not playing well on the court. The former World No.1 pointed out that despite her technical flaws and short-term struggles, she has fought hard to get some big wins on the court:
To go through things that are physically and mentally not working and to get through it and win consistently is a superpower. There is no world where anyone else can deal with 20 or 25 double faults and still finish two or three in the world every year. She does not leave those positions. It does not matter how much we see her struggle. We have to give credit where credit is due for Coco at some point. If the losses are ugly, I don’t care.
At the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Gauff managed to beat only Jasmine Paolini in the group stage but lost to Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula. The disappointing result for the 21-year-old came just one year after she had won it for the first time in her career. In 2026, she will deliver better, more consistent performance on tour.
Former World No.1 believes Coco Gauff has one of the best backhand shots in the WTA
In 2025, Coco Gauff played her best tennis during the clay-court season. During that period, she gave a more consistent performance on the court, leading her to reach three consecutive finals on tour. But, she lost the finals at the Madrid Open and Italian Open, while claiming the Roland Garros after beating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.
During the aforementioned conversation, Andy Roddick pointed out that despite Gauff’s shortcomings in 2025, she still knows how to position her tactics on the court. He analyzed that she has a deeper understanding of how to win matches, even when she creates her own errors for her opponent to take advantage of:
She is the best in the world at being uncomfortable on a given day and getting a win. We are talking about how she is able to settle in, how she applies her game, how she creates errors and stress. She has one of the biggest and hardest backhands in the world. She sets up her defense with patterns. It is not an accident.
Gauff will open her 2026 season at the United Cup, which starts on Friday (January 2). The World No.3 and Taylor Fritz will be leading the United States of America against Argentina and Spain in the group stage. She helped the US team win the title for the second time last January after beating Poland in the final.
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)