Coco Gauff’s challenging start to the 2025 season has drawn attention from tennis fans and pundits alike—and now, former World No. 9 Andrea Petkovic has weighed in with a bold theory.
The 21-year-old American, once considered a top contender for this year’s majors, has recently faced a string of disappointing results, with persistent serving issues taking center stage. During a recent episode of her podcast Becker Petkovic, Petkovic suggested that changes in Gauff’s serving grip might be contributing to the inconsistency.
“This is my hot take,” said Petkovic. “When she hired her new coach, Matt Daly, he adjusted her serve grip. But if you don’t constantly reinforce a grip change, the muscle memory can take over, and you slip back to the old one.”
Petkovic pointed to the stats: Gauff had been limiting double faults late last year and into early 2025—often recording just one or two per match. But more recently, including a match against Magda Linette in Miami, she committed 12 double faults, followed by eight more in a Round of 16 loss to Belinda Bencic at Indian Wells.
“Something’s not right,” Petkovic added. “I believe the grip has reverted, and it’s affecting her serve dramatically.”
Gauff herself hasn’t shied away from criticism. Following her loss in Miami, where she also logged 45 unforced errors and made less than 50% of her first serves, she admitted to being “off” across the board.
“It wasn’t great today,” Gauff told reporters. “Honestly, everything felt off—serve, return, forehand, backhand. It’s been like this the past two weeks. I’m just trying to figure it out.”
The rising star also admitted that her recent results are beginning to impact her confidence on court.
Despite the slump, Gauff still has her supporters. Rick Macci, former coach to Venus and Serena Williams, shared a message of encouragement on social media:
“There’s a fine line between winning and losing. Around the corner from adversity and defeat is a rock-solid Coco that will be hard to beat.”
As Gauff looks to bounce back, the tennis world will be watching closely to see if she can rediscover the form that made her a Grand Slam champion.
