Former world No 9 reveals ‘theory’ about return of Coco Gauff’s serving woes
Former WTA star Andrea Petkovic believes that Coco Gauff has inadvertently fallen back into old habits amid the world No 3’s recent struggles on serve.
US star Gauff has faced significant issues with her serve in recent weeks, with particular issues emerging across her campaigns in Indian Wells and Miami.
In Indian Wells, the 21-year-old hit over 20 double faults in her opening match against Moyuka Uchijima and hit six in her final service game of a round-three win over Maria Sakkari.
Gauff was then beaten in the fourth round by Belinda Bencic, and then lost at the same stage of the Miami Open to Magda Linette.
After splitting with former coach Brad Gilbert in September 2024, a new partnership with grip specialist Matt Daly saw an initial upturn in form at the end of last season.
However, with her serving issues having returned in recent weeks, former world No 9 Petkovic has had her say.
Speaking on her podcast Becker Petkovic, the German suggested that Gauff was instinctively returning to her former service grip.
“This is my hot take,” said Petkovic.
“I think what happened when she hired the new coach, Matt Daly, he changed her grip on the serve a bit.
“My theory is, when you change a grip, with time, if you don’t remember it all the time, it goes back to the old grip – If you’re not constantly being warned: ‘Hey, think about the new grip, think about the new grip.’
“In the last two, three tournaments of last year and the first two tournaments of this year, she had hardly any double faults, one or two per match. Now in the match against Linette, twelve double faults.
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“In the match in Indian Wells, which she lost [to Bencic], eight doubles faults in three sets. Twenty-two in three sets in Indian Wells in the second round. She won the match in the end, but with 22 double faults.
“So, something is not right with the serve. My theory is that the grip has gone back to the old one, and therefore, it does not work at the moment.”
Gauff was beaten in the Australian Open quarter-finals but has failed to make the last eight of an event since, with Indian Wells and Miami exits following on from opening-match defeats in Doha and Dubai.
The world No 3 will not compete for the United States in the Billie Jean King Cup next week and will instead return to action at the Stuttgart Open, which begins on April 14.
The WTA 500 event has once again amassed an incredibly strong field, with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No 2 Iga Swiatek joining Gauff on the entry list.
Read Next: 2025 WTA Stuttgart Entry List: All 4 of the world’s best players to participate
