Coco Gauff has ‘made the best decision of her life’, says legendary coach

Coco Gauff has made a career-defining move with her decision to hire biomechanical expert Gavin MacMillan with legendary coach Rick Macci confident she will now realise her full potential and go on to win double digit Grand Slams.

Barely a year after she started working with Matt Daly following the departure of Brad Gilbert, news broke that Gauff had parted ways with her head coach on the eve of the 2025 US Open.

The move took many by surprise as, under Daly’s guidance, she won this year’s French Open and the 2024 WTA Finals, while she also finished runner-up at the Madrid Open and Italian Open earlier this year.

But there is no doubt that despite her upturn in form, Gauff still struggled with her service motion, and it has cost her dearly in several matches as her double-fault count is often high, handing opponents free points.

Macci, who coached tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams early on in their careers, has in the past urged Gauff to work with a biomechanical expert and he feels MacMillan will finally sort out her serving woes.

“Cori Gauff just made the best decision in his life for Coco. By hiring Gavin MacMillan this can be solved real quick and make her serve click. What she hears will be 100% different than anything in the past. He knows the issue and understands joint angles and soft tissue,” he wrote in a series of posts on social media platform X.

“This is not only a game changer for Coco hiring Gavin MacMillan but a Major League career changer. I saw the modifications biomechanically he did with Sabalenka on her serve and he rewired everything from start to finish. A biomechanical expert knows exactly the real culprit not a symptom others say and see.”

Besides this year’s French Open, Gauff also won the 2023 US Open while she has peaked at No 2, but there is no doubt there is more to come from the 21-year-old.

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Macci added: “Everything is difficult before it becomes easy. Dad Cori Gauff understands he has the best athlete on the planet and her mental strength is like granite. The forehand and serve issues will soon become history and number one and double digit Slams no longer a mystery.”

“This long overdue decision will now lead to more precision. Cori Gauff great friend and a pillar of strength for this unreal athletic family has always heard but now he listened. He pulled the science trigger and Coco serve and forehand will become more reliable and bigger.

MacMillan arrives with a wealth of experience as he helped reigning world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka to overcome her service problems.

Sabalenka topped the double fault charts in early 2022, but she started working with the Canadian later in the year and she went on to win three Grand Slams after he fixed her serve.

“Gavin MacMillan will address the origin with Coco on the serve and correct it in a few days. She still needs reps and fire in combat but look for a huge change right now in the double fault area,” Macci wrote. “Then there will be a whole new lingo and understanding for Coco from here on in and many more slams the Delray Dart can win.”

In a few more posts he added: “Coco in my eyes went from she has a shot to win the Open to a real shot. Gavin will spark a fire [and] lift Coco higher because he has the knowledge to change that technical wire. This is a biomechanical issue. Gavin works under the hood and one of a few scientists who could.

“Everything in life is in the EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. The problems with Coco serve will be signed sealed and she will deliver. Gavin will take a step-by-step science-based approach as he sees many issues from the preparation phase to the cocking phase that has affected the toss spine angle and weight transfer.

“A Biomechanical approach under the hood and understanding the human skeleton and effectiveness of motion will take Coco and her serve to a special place. Her off-the-charts genetics when wired in sequence will deliver the best serve on the tour 130 mph and very few doubles.”

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