'She Is Still Having Issues': Gauff Could Be Plotting Changes In Her Team Suggests McEnroe

Saturday, 14 September 2024 at 02:39

byZachary Wimer

John McEnroe talked about what's next for Coco Gauff, making a bold prediction that she will make changes in her team, which would be surprising.

Gauff has had the same team for over a year now. She started working with Brad Gilbert ahead of last year's US Open, and after winning her first major at Flushing Meadows, the famous coach remained on board.

Things haven't looked as good this year, as her level kept falling with every week over the summer. She had a decent start to the season with a trophy at the ASB Classic in Auckland, but after that, her form hasn't looked as great.

This year's North American hard-court series was a disaster for the 20-year-old, as she didn’t defend her trophy or come close to it. Her run ended at the hands of Emma Navarro, who also bested her at Wimbledon.

It wasn't the summer she wanted. That's how Gauff explained what had happened at Wimbledon and in New York. Former player John McEnroe told Eurosport that he thinks Gauff might be plotting some changes in her team.

The American legend doesn’t have any insider information; he was just speculating what might happen, and that seemed like a logical move to him, knowing how well the change worked out the last time.

"I don’t know about what is going on in her team, but I suspect there will be changes, that’s my guess. When she made the change last year and brought in Brad, it spurred her on and she had this great run in the hard court season."

"Now it’s a year later and I don’t know what has happened. She is still having issues with her serve, she is still having issues with her forehand."

"She seems to be more outwardly frustrated on the court and venting more than I’ve seen before. I guess that’s just the pressure of expectations. People are just saying ‘oh, go and follow in the footsteps of Serena Williams’. You are like ‘oh really, that will be easy’. Give me a break."

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Many things contributed to Gauff's disappointing US Open showing, and it was not just her tennis. She played a lot of tennis at the Olympics, which obviously left a mark on her.

Almost every player that played in Paris struggled in the weeks after. She’s also been quite busy off the courts, which hasn’t helped either. Overall, McEnroe just hopes that her team finds a good balance in everything they do, allowing her to focus on tennis, which is the most important part.

She has issues in her game that need to be fixed if she wants to further improve. Right now, she’s trending in the wrong direction, and that’s not positive for her career.

There is time, she’s very young, but sooner than later, the American has to start showing signs of improvement, and she hasn’t in a very long time.

"I’ve noticed she has been on a lot of commercials as well, so they’ve got to balance that with giving her time to work on her game and feel super confident again. You can tell she’s not feeling that right now."