Coco Gauff insists serve 'on the way up' despite Anisimova hammering in Beijing
NewsMonday, 06 October 2025 at 20:45
Coco Gauff was eager to focus on the positives after being unable to defend her title at last week's 2025 China Open.
Gauff's campaign in Beijing included close victories against Belinda Bencic and Leylah Fernandez. The win over Bencic ensured she qualified for the WTA Finals, continuing her streak of appearances dating back to 2022.
However, in the semifinal, Gauff suffered one of her most significant thrashings in recent years on the WTA Tour against Amanda Anisimova. She could not adapt to her compatriot's power from start to finish in the 1-6, 2-6 defeat.
The 21-year-old's serve has consistently been her biggest weakness, especially the second serve. Anisimova broke Gauff five times across the two sets, and the younger American only won 38% of points on first serve.
Nonetheless, Gauff feels she has made progress with her serve in the last few weeks since hiring Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics coach, and thought that was evident in some moments in at the China Open when speaking ahead of the 2025 Wuhan Open.
“I feel a lot more comfortable with it. I’m still obviously learning a new motion and everything, but I felt like, you know, Beijing was a good tournament for me regarding the serve. There were moments that it got me out of a lot of trouble as well. So, I think it’s in the right direction. It’s not where I wanted to be, but I definitely feel like it’s on the way up."
While Gauff acknowledges there is work ahead to improve her serve further, she does not think basing her entire opinion of the China Open on the final match would be the right mindset.
“Yes, there were moments I could serve better, but overall, I don’t feel like it was like a crutch for me. And then in the last match, I mean, she was returning well; the percentage of first serve points there was really low, but I mean, I hit like a 200hm serve, and she was hitting the ball back way faster. I try not to use the last match as like my overall memory of the tournament."
“I think now it’s just trusting it in those moments. But, you know, I’m still double faulting more than I would like, but a lot less than at the Open or before the Open. yeah, I think for me, I want it to be a real weapon – and it is in some moments – but I think more consistently being the weapon.”
The 2025 French Open champion admitted that she views the final tournaments of the season after the US Open as an opportunity to become more comfortable with her serve and other areas before the 2026 Australian Open in January.
“Obviously I think last week went well, but I feel like this part of the year, historically, I’ve always looked at it like that. I had good results last year and remember saying the same thing, and then I won Beijing and then WTA Finals. So yeah, I’m going to try to just keep that same mindset and prepare and get better for next year. But obviously, I’m a competitor, so I’m still wanting to win."
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