Former Serena Williams Coach Reveals What He Hopes Coco Gauff Will Achieve This Season
Coco Gauff won her second Grand Slam title in 2025, beating Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open final.
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Coco Gauff (via X/Jose Morgado)
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Coco Gauff impressed in 2025 by winning her second career Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. The American star reached four finals last season, including three WTA 1000-level finals. Following the brilliant results, former Serena Williams coach Patrick Mouratoglou now hopes Gauff wins more major titles in 2026.
Gauff finished last season in the top 3 for the consecutive year on tour. She began 2025 by helping the United States win the United Cup after she defeated Iga Swiatek in the final. She went on to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open before losing to Spanish No.1 Paula Badosa.
However, Gauff gave her best performance of the season during the clay-court season, reaching the final of the Italian Open and Madrid Open before emerging victorious at the French Open after beating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets. The Grand Slam was her second, having won her first at the 2023 US Open.
She then struggled with her game and tactics on the court, racking up uncharacteristic unforced errors in matches. She began dealing with the problem at the US Open, but it was in Wuhan that she earned her second title of the year after beating fellow compatriot Jessica Pegula in straight sets in the final.
However, Gauff failed to meet her expectations. Many believe there’s still more to come from Gauff, including Patrick Mouratoglou. The former Serena Williams coach revealed via a video posted on Instagram that he would love Gauff to win another Grand Slam and strengthen some part of her game:
What I would love to see in 2026 is Coco Gauff winning another Grand Slam. She’s already won two; she’s extremely young still, and I feel she can start to do more. She can start to win two or three per year. That’s always been a goal for her, to really win a lot of Grand Slams. I think some areas in her game need to progress. Her strengths need to be better.
Gauff will kick off her 2026 campaign at the United Cup alongside fellow compatriot Taylor Fritz. Both players will lead the USA at the tournament as they face Argentina and Spain, who are without Carlos Alcaraz, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Paula Badosa, in the group stages. The US is the defending champion and has won the event twice in the past three years.
Patrick Mouratoglou hopes Coco Gauff will become World No.1 for the first time in 2026
Coco Gauff has been criticized in the past for not being able to compete with the other top players in the women’s circuit and losing to them in critical matches on tour. But in recent months, she has done well to prove she can beat them on the court and play great tennis.
However, the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have more Grand Slams than the 21-year-old. Sabalenka has four Slams, while Swiatek has six. During the aforementioned video, Patrick Mouratoglou highlighted that Gauff needs to start fighting to be the women’s World No.1, as she has what it takes to achieve it:
We want to see Coco compete to win those Grand Slams, and why not fight for the number one spot with Aryna [Sabalenka], fight with [Elena] Rybakina, with [Amanda] Anisimova, with [Iga] Swiatek. All those girls are close, of course, for the moment, Aryna is number one without any doubt, but I really feel that Coco has a place there. She has a spot, she has the level. There are a few things that need to be improved in her game.
Gauff will have to fight for titles in 2026 to get to the top of the WTA rankings. Sabalenka and Swiatek are currently the only players looking likely to compete for that position. Gauff has remained No.3 for the past two seasons, and her career-high ranking is No.2.
Also Read: Mirra Andreeva Comments on the Brewing Rivalry Between Her and Aryna Sabalenka Ahead of Brisbane
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