Coco Gauff is very gifted but also has some flaws in her game at this stage of her career; understanding that some things need fixing.
Coco Gauff has had a very solid season so far but there is a prevalent sense that she's not really playing up to her level. Remember, this is a player who broke out as a 15-year at Wimbledon winning a couple of matches before establishing herself as a regular part of the WTA Tour as a 16-year-old.
Her Roland Garros final last year was one of her significant runs, and there are certainly more to come. Some have expected her to win a Grand Slam final by now and while that might be a bit unrealistic, we've seen it before. She is supremely gifted and this year, while fair, has not been up to the standard many expected her to play.
It's interesting because she started well. A trophy early in Auckland but then no finals anymore. She's improving as well, albeit not quickly. The serve was a weakness and it looks a lot better this year after she worked on it.
Yeah, I think I'm getting a lot better with that. Obviously, this tournament I have been serving really well. I have been trying to work on my serve and playing it smarter, being more first serves in the court.
It is working really well this week in Eastbourne as she downed compatriot Jessica Pegula behind a very solid serving effort. She'll now look to continue that against Madison Keys in hopes of booking another final. Another thing that is still a major weakness is the forehand. Multiple people singled it out such as Serena Williams' former coach Rick Macci.
Rennae Stubbs urged her to work on her forehand as did Patrick McEnroe. She's aware of it and plans to work on it in the offseason even though she's content with it for now. She was asked about at the 2023 Eastbourne International and talked about her plans some more.
And then obviously the forehand, it's going to be a long process, but I do think the last couple of matches it's been helping me a lot, especially on the return. I had a lot of second-serve return, like not winners but deep return, aggressive returns on that side.
Fixing a shot like the forehand will take time, especially when you're in the middle of the season. She'll have to endure for now and then work on it in the future finally ridding herself of that weakness. If she gets that done then she might dominate as many expected her to.
It's tough to fix everything, you know, in between tournaments, but I do think tactical ways in how I'm approaching it in the matches are getting better and better.
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