Coco Gauff admits that she is “disappointed” with her serving after double faults again piled up during her Canadian Open round-three triumph on Thursday.
The American rallied from a set down to defeat Veronika Kudermetova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in Montreal, booking a round-four clash versus Victoria Mboko.
Two-time Grand Slam singles champion Gauff showed impressive fight to battle past the former world No 9 in Montreal, with 14 double faults not helping the American’s cause during her three-set triumph.
That came after the worst serving day of the 21-year-old’s career during her opening match at the WTA 1000 event, with Gauff serving a staggering 23 double faults during her win over Danielle Collins.
Despite serving a combined 37 double faults across her first two matches, the American has still progressed to the second week of the tournament.
And, speaking following her win over world No 42 Kudermetova, Gauff admitted that there were “positives” to take about her victories despite her service woes.
“There’s positives and there’s negatives,” said the world No 2.
“Obviously, I am disappointed in myself when it comes to that part of the game because I didn’t play D.C. [Citi DC Open] to work on that and made changes to that.
“Doing well in practice and serving really well in practice. I just would like it to transfer to the match.
“It does give positives that I’m winning these matches, having literally like one part of my game on a crutch.
“So it’s like if I can stand on both feet, then I can only imagine that it would be a lot more straightforward and a lot easier for me.”
Double faults have plagued Gauff for numerous months now, with the American frequently struggling.
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Gauff famously served 19 double faults during her fourth-round defeat to Emma Navarro at the US Open in 2024, and 21 during her Wuhan Open loss to Aryna Sabalenka later that season.
The American also served 21 double faults against Moyuka Uchijima in Indian Wells earlier this season, though she was able to prevail in a third-set tiebreak.
Gauff’s 37 double faults in Montreal is the third-highest tally recorded at a WTA 1000 tournament this season – with the 21-year-old already occupying the top two spots.
She served 42 double faults during her run to a runner-up finish at the Italian Open, and a total of 38 during her Indian Wells campaign.
Asked about that statistic during her post-match press conference in Canada, the reigning French Open champion admitted that it made for grim reading.
Gauff added: “I don’t want to lead that stat, and I want to do better.
“I know I probably won’t be ever double fault-free, but if I could get that to 2%, 3%, it would make a big difference in just making these matches a lot easier.
“The fact that I’m winning matches and finding ways to win with that is definitely a positive.
“But I’m a tough critic of myself. I know I can do better, and I know I should do better. It will get better, it’s just a matter of time.”
Gauff will return to action on Saturday against home favourite Mboko, who is in the fourth round of the Canadian Open on her tournament debut.
The two previously met at the Italian Open back in May, with Gauff battling back from a set down to triumph in three sets.
The winner will play either Zhu Lin or Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the quarter-final.
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