Coco Gauff Admits Feeling Stressed About Making a ‘Mechanical Change’ Before the Start of the US Open

Coco Gauff to face Olympic silver-medalist Donna Vekic in the second round of the US Open.

Coco Gauff Admits Feeling Stressed About Making a ‘Mechanical Change’ Before the Start of the US Open

Coco Gauff (via X/Jose Morgado)

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Coco Gauff has admitted that trying to fix her serve at the US Open has been mentally draining after she had to overcome Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets in the first round. The American star has struggled with double faults this season and recently hired Aryna Sabalenka‘s former biomechanical coach Gavin MacMillan to help her out.

The 21-year-old parted ways with Matt Daly just barely a year after working with him. She was heavily criticized for hitting over 40 double faults at the Canadian Open, which saw her crash out of the tournament in the fourth round after losing to eventual champion Victoria Mboko. The two-time Grand Slam champion has struggled with her game since winning the French Open.

Before the US Open, an analysis was done on Gauff’s game, and it was reported that she had served a staggering 320 double faults in her last 47 matches, which means she hit an average of 6.8 double faults per match. Despite working with MacMillan for a while, the errors still persist as she hit 10 double faults against Tomljanovic.

The American star made 59 unforced errors to go with 29 winners. She wasn’t at her best in the first set, as there was a noticeable drop in the speed of her serve. It wasn’t until the second set that she began to serve better, but that didn’t make much difference as Tomljanovic fought hard in the match.

Gauff eventually won the tie 6-4, 6(2)-7, 7-5 in nearly three hours. During her post-match press conference, she revealed that she spent so much time trying to fix her serve before the US Open and it has not been easy because it seems like learning a new “language”.

I spent so much time on the court serving last week that my shoulder ended up hurting. I have changed the service mechanics, and it is not easy to revert to old habits under pressure situations. I know I must stick to the new motion no matter what because, in the long run, it will be beneficial, but it’s not easy because changing a stroke at this point is like learning a new language. I feel that what I’m doing now makes sense, even though I continue to make mistakes and not serve too fast; I just need more time.

Gauff has not reached the semi-finals of a tournament since winning the French Open. She failed to win a single grass-court match and has won just three matches since lifting the Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

Coco Gauff says she fully trusts her new biomechanical coach despite persistent serving problems

Coco Gauff entered the US Open on the back of a poor run at the Canadian and Cincinnati Open. She reached the fourth round in Montreal before losing to 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, while at Cincinnati, she fell to Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals. Both losses were due to her faults as she double-faulted 16 times against Paolini.

Coco Gauff (via X/Ground Press)
Coco Gauff (via X/Ground Press)

With Gavin MacMillan coming in as her coach to help fix her serving problems, he will need time to do that. She was asked during the aforementioned press conference if she trusted her biomechanical coach and she admitted that despite feeling stressed she would have preferred they begin working together in a WTA 500 event:

I have complete trust in him because science and facts support his theories. We’ve only been together for a week, and I feel very stressed because making such a change in a Grand Slam is not the best; I would have preferred it to be in a WTA 500.

Gauff will face Donna Vekic in the second round of the tournament. The former World No.2 lost to Vekic in the round of 16 of the Paris Olympics, but won their most recent clash at the 2025 United Cup. With her serve troubles, she will have to do better when she faces the Croatian star.

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