It may sound ridiculous to suggest world No 3 Coco Gauff should take a break from tennis, but this is written with the best of intentions.
Back in June, just a few short weeks ago, Gauff was dancing around Roland Garros after winning her first title at the French Open, with her battling win against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka highlighting all her admirable fighting qualities.
Yet even on that dull Saturday afternoon in Paris, it was evident that a major hole remains in the game of this great icon of our sport, with her faltering serve a part of her make-up that has proved to be hard to shift.
At the age of 21, Gauff has already achieved more than many of the biggest names in the women’s game, with her US Open win in 2023 and French Open triumph this year inked onto a record that is already good enough to ensure she will enter the tennis Hall of Fame in the future.
Yet her performances at this year’s US Open have been hard to watch.
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After making the surprise decision to change her coaching set-up in the days before the final Grand Slam of the year, Gauff only had a few days to work with new coach Gavin MacMillan before she played her first round match against Ajla Tomljanovic.
Gauff admitted she struggled to get through that match as she tried to process all the information coming her way from MacMillan.
“It’s hard to do what we are trying to do during a Grand Slam,” said Gauff.
“It was a very sudden decision to make the change. Gavin magically became available. I just felt this was the best decision for my game, at least, and I had to go with what I was feeling.
“I think Matt is a great coach and a great person and 100% love working with him. Yeah, I mean, we obviously had a very successful partnership, but I’m just looking at long term.
“I know Gavin has had experience with this before so, hoping I can just take on his knowledge and see what can happen.
“It was a decision I had to make and by this time next year, I’m sure I will be serving a lot better. It’s all about the mechanics and like learning a new language. It’s just about trying that new [service] motion and when I do it well, it always provides a good result.
“The other thing is not just thinking about the serve. I need to think about how I will play out the point. It’s not a mental thing. It’s a biomechanics thing and I’m just working hard to get it right.”
Gauff is asked about her serve in each and every press conference and it was clear that the emotion of everything she is dealing with was overwhelming her when she staggered through her second round match against Croatian Donna Vekic.
Visibly emotional during that match and also at the end as she spoke to the crowd, Gauff told Sky Sports her challenge was tough to deal with.
“I think it was a panic attack,” she said. “I’ve had them before off court but it was the first time it happened to me on the court.
“I was trying to calm myself down and breathe in the moment and that was why I went to the bathroom after the first set to reset.
“It was one of the moments where I was like ‘I want to get off the court right now and it be over with’. I think I needed it to happen because the support I got afterwards I realised how much people love me and how much I should love myself in those moments.
“It was a learning experience, I’ll remember it for the rest of my career and know there’s a lot more to be grateful for than losing on a court.”
Commendably, Gauff is continuing to fight her demons on the court, but the sensible move when her US Open adventure ends would be to step back from the spotlight, work with coach MacMillan to resolve her solving problems and return to action when the time is right.
Anyone who has played tennis at any level will confirm that your game tends to be built around your serve.
If it’s working well, the rest of your game tends to flow around it, but Gauff has a remarkable ability to compartmentalise on court, with her serve treated as a separate entity to her impressive all-round game.
She has had issues with her forehand as well, but they are not as significant as her serving problems, that can creep up on her suddenly and when they strike, they hit in a real rush.
Double faults can flow, as tension visibly rises and it is hard for the audience at the stadium and watching at home on TV to see this wonderful young lady putting herself through such a mental ordeal before our eyes.
So Gauff may be wise to take a step back in a bid to take a stride forward.
If she spends six weeks working with coach MacMillian away from competition, she could make huge progress on her service motion and while that may mean missing the Asian swing of the WTA Tour, it could be an investment in time that would reap long-term dividends.
Tennis needs Gauff to be a champion of our sport for a decade and more and we don’t need to see too much more of the agonies she has lived through at this year’s US Open.
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