In the sun-soaked courts of the 2025 Miami Open, a stunning upset unfolded that left tennis fans and analysts buzzing with concern. Coco Gauff, the young American star once heralded as the future of the sport, suffered a straight-sets defeat to Poland’s Magda Linette, a result that has sparked fresh doubts about her consistency. The scoreline—6-4, 6-3—barely tells the story of a match riddled with Gauff’s struggles, including a staggering 12 double faults and 45 unforced errors. For a player who burst onto the scene with such promise, this performance has reignited questions about whether she can maintain her place among the elite.
The match marked Gauff’s third encounter with Linette, a seasoned competitor nearly 12 years her senior. Until this moment, Gauff had held a 2-0 edge in their head-to-head record, making Linette’s victory all the more unexpected. The 33-year-old Pole, clearly relishing the moment, sealed her triumph by signing the camera lens with a cheeky “33 is looking good,” a nod to her age and newfound success against the 21-year-old prodigy. In her post-match comments, Linette couldn’t hide her delight. “Beating Coco for the first time is a huge achievement for me,” she said, her words carrying the weight of a career-defining win.
For Gauff, however, the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, especially on home soil. The Miami Open, a prestigious event in her native Florida, offered a chance to solidify her status as a top-tier talent. Instead, it became a stage for her vulnerabilities to take center stage. Her serve, long a point of scrutiny, faltered under pressure, with those 12 double faults echoing a troubling pattern from the previous year. At the 2024 Wuhan Open, Gauff had unleashed an astonishing 21 double faults in a single semifinal match—a statistic that stunned observers and hinted at deeper technical flaws. While she’s worked tirelessly to refine her game, the 2025 season suggests those issues remain stubbornly unresolved.
Among those sounding the alarm is Rennae Stubbs, the former coach of Serena Williams and a respected voice in the tennis world. Stubbs has been outspoken about Gauff’s struggles, particularly when the spotlight intensifies. “When you’re talking about the consistency of an English ground tech and a Sabalenka, Coco is not having that,” Stubbs remarked, drawing a sharp contrast between Gauff and players like Aryna Sabalenka, whose relentless power and precision have kept her at the pinnacle of the sport. “She has really dropped out of that top-tier five-level,” Stubbs added, her words cutting through the optimism that once surrounded Gauff’s trajectory. For Stubbs, the loss to Linette isn’t just a bad day—it’s a red flag. “Losing to Magda Linette is not a good loss at the Miami Open for her,” she emphasized, pointing to the upset as evidence of a worrying decline.
Stubbs isn’t alone in her critique. Gauff’s forehand, another Achilles’ heel, has drawn scrutiny for its inconsistency, often buckling in high-stakes moments. Against Linette, those 45 unforced errors painted a picture of a player wrestling with her own game, unable to find the rhythm that once carried her to a US Open title in 2023. That victory, at just 19, had cemented her as a generational talent, a worthy successor to icons like Williams. Yet, as the 2025 season unfolds, the gap between that potential and her current form feels wider than ever.
For Linette, the win was a moment of personal triumph, a testament to her resilience and experience. She capitalized on Gauff’s errors with poise, turning the match into a masterclass of patience and precision. Her victory shifts their head-to-head record to 1-2, a small but significant footnote in a rivalry that may yet grow. Meanwhile, Gauff faces a crossroads. The Miami Open setback isn’t just a single loss—it’s a call to address the technical and mental hurdles that threaten to stall her ascent.
As the tennis world watches, the question lingers: Is this a temporary stumble or a sign of deeper cracks in Gauff’s foundation? Stubbs and others see a player at risk of slipping from the elite tier she once seemed destined to dominate. For Gauff, the road ahead demands not just talent, but the resolve to confront her flaws head-on. In a sport where consistency is king, her next steps will determine whether she can reclaim her place among the best—or fade into the shadows of unfulfilled promise.