Bold Coco Gauff serving prediction made by Serena Williams’ ex-coach ahead of return
Coco Gauff has been backed to “flip the double fault script” and debut a new and improved serve across the rest of 2025 by acclaimed tennis coach Rick Macci.
World No 3 and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Gauff has not been in action since her US Open fourth-round defeat to Naomi Osaka, the culmination of a difficult summer for the 21 when it came to her service struggles.
Gauff hit a combined 37 double faults across her first two matches at the Canadian Open in late July and was again affected across the Cincinnati Open and US Open, with her forehand also proving a problem in New York.
Directly before the US Open, Gauff split suddenly with former coach Matt Daly and hired technique specialist Gavin MacMillan, who previously transformed world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s game.
Many have called for Gauff, who won the French Open title this June, to take off across the rest of the year to work alongside MacMillan and long-time coach JC Faurel to help fix the technical issues in her game.
However, the American is still set to return to action at the China Open at the end of September, where she will look to defend her title.
Gauff will also likely compete at the Wuhan Open, where she was a semi-finalist in 2024, before she attempts to win her second straight WTA Finals title in Riyadh.
Legendary tennis coach Macci, who has worked with the likes of the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova in the past, has taken a keen interest in Gauff’s progression over recent months.
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And, in a new post on Twitter/X, he predicted that the 21-year-old could show progression in her serve when she takes to the court over the next few weeks.
He wrote: “The remainder of the year will give us a small sample size of Coco and the serve.
“I feel you will see less free presents and a first serve now and then at 125 [miles per hour]. Watch the Delray Dart flip the double fault script and a new built weapon she will rip.”
Earlier this year, Macci spoke exclusively to Tennis365 about Gauff’s serve, and suggested the changes the 21-year-old should make to her game.
He commented: “So, what I would do, and even my partner Dr. Brian Gordon — who has his PhD in Biomechanics, he did his thesis on this stuff — I would have her go to a platform stance, right now she does a pinpoint.
“And I’m not saying it’s wrong. I mean, [there are] world class servers [who use] pinpoint.
“But the corrective technique has to jolt the muscle memory, and I gotta re-programme the reflexes from the beginning.
“So, in a platform stance, it’d be like fresh out of the oven. And then from there, the whole timing would be very different, her vertical component would be easier to correct – that means her upward movement.”
World No 3 Gauff is currently set to be the second seed for her China Open title defence, with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka out of the event due to injury.
The American was in sublime form in Beijing twelve months ago, dispatching Karolina Muchova with ease in the final to lift what was the second WTA 1000 title of her career.
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