Coco Gauff, the 21-year-old world No. 2 and 2023 US Open champion, faces growing concerns about her game as the 2025 US Open looms, with legendary coach Rick Macci declaring her career “at a crossroads” due to persistent serving and forehand struggles. Following her French Open title in June 2025, Gauff’s form has faltered, marked by a first-round Wimbledon loss to Dayana Yastremska, a stunning 6-1, 6-4 defeat to 18-year-old Victoria Mboko in Montreal, and a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 loss to Jasmine Paolini in Cincinnati on August 15, 2025. These setbacks, coupled with an alarming 9.2 double faults per match over her last five outings, have raised doubts about her Grand Slam prospects (tennis.com, www.sportskeeda.com).
Macci’s Stark Warning
Rick Macci, who coached Serena and Venus Williams, took to X on August 17, 2025, to highlight Gauff’s vulnerabilities: “Coco will be OK as she fights and knows how to play. But to ever breathe rare air, she has to address the alarming red flare. She is at a career crossroad with the 2nd serve and forehand but needs a science-based plan. This will not magically go away” (@RickMacci). Gauff’s second serve, with a 48.5% win rate on second-serve points, and her inconsistent forehand crumbled under pressure in Cincinnati, where she smashed her racket after 16 double faults (tennis.com). Her 430 double faults in 2024, leading the WTA Tour, underscore the issue’s severity (tennisuptodate.com).
A Season of Highs and Lows
Despite a stellar 2024 with titles in Auckland, Beijing, and the WTA Finals, Gauff’s post-French Open struggles have been stark. Her Wimbledon exit and Montreal upset exposed technical flaws, particularly her serve’s erratic ball toss (@sunny2023ie). Rennae Stubbs, a former WTA pro, criticized Gauff’s coaching setup, noting that Matt Daly and Jean-Christophe Faurel have failed to fix her serve’s mechanics (tennisuptodate.com). In Cincinnati, Paolini capitalized on Gauff’s errors, prompting fans on X to lament, “Six years on tour and Coco still can’t serve” (@sunny2023ie). Gauff acknowledged the season’s toll, stating, “The construct of the season doesn’t favor player consistency” (@gyezi_).
Path to Recovery
Macci urged a “science-based plan” to refine Gauff’s second serve and forehand, with Stubbs suggesting a tweak to hit “7 p.m. on the ball” for a better kick serve (tennisuptodate.com). With the US Open starting August 24, 2025, Gauff’s time to address these issues is limited, but her athleticism—likened to “an Olympic sprinter with a racket”—offers hope (tennisworldusa.org). Her resilience mirrors that of Emma Raducanu navigating injuries or Luke Littler managing darts’ pressures. Fans on X are split, with some calling for a coaching change (@_delicate_r) and others confident in her rebound (@TennisLetter). As Gauff prepares for Flushing Meadows, tackling these “alarming” issues will determine if she can reclaim her Grand Slam glory.
