Coco Gauff, the world No. 2 and two-time Grand Slam champion, has long been hailed as one of tennis’s brightest stars, but her serve—particularly her second serve—remains a persistent Achilles’ heel. As she prepares for the Cincinnati Open, a critical tune-up for the US Open, legendary coach Rick Macci, who mentored Serena and Venus Williams, has stepped into the spotlight with a detailed blueprint to fix Gauff’s serving woes. Macci, renowned for his biomechanical expertise, believes that with targeted adjustments, Gauff’s serve could not only shed its inconsistency but become “the best on tour,” propelling her toward the coveted world No. 1 ranking.
Gauff’s 2025 season has been a rollercoaster of triumphs and challenges. Her stunning French Open victory in June, where she outlasted Aryna Sabalenka in a gripping final, marked her as the youngest American woman to win at Roland Garros since Serena Williams in 2002. Yet, her serve has been a glaring weak spot, most notably at the Canadian Open in Montreal, where she racked up an astonishing 37 double faults across two matches, including 23 in a narrow win over Danielle Collins. Despite these struggles, Gauff’s resilience shone through, as she battled to the round of 16 before falling to Canadian wildcard Victoria Mboko. “The goal of the match is to survive and advance. I’m not at my best, but for today it’s enough,” Gauff said post-match, reflecting her determination to push forward despite technical flaws.
Macci, who has coached five world No. 1 players, pinpointed the root of Gauff’s serving issues as a biomechanical disconnection, particularly in her second serve. In a recent statement, he declared, “Coco can have the best serve on tour because her wires are unique and she can jump like a rabbit, but she hits all those doubles because of this muscle memory habit. It’s not the toss or a vanilla correction; it’s an improper disconnection. Once the reflexes are reprogrammed from the ground up, the free lunches will say bye and her limit is the sky.” He emphasized that her right foot positioning is a critical flaw, with her weight incorrectly distributed on her right groin rather than behind her right hip, compromising power and accuracy. Macci advocates for a switch from her current pinpoint stance to a platform stance, a change he believes could be implemented in “less than one hour” to make her serve “fundamentally sound.”
This isn’t the first time Macci has urged Gauff to overhaul her serve. Following her 2024 US Open loss to Emma Navarro, where she committed 19 double faults, he called her serve “biomechanically disconnected” and suggested a science-based approach to rewire her reflexes. Gauff’s recent split with coach Brad Gilbert and her partnership with Matt Daly, a grip specialist, led to a temporary uptick in form, with titles at the China Open and WTA Finals. However, her serving issues resurfaced in Wuhan, where she hit 21 double faults against Sabalenka. “I’m not worried because I found the solution. I only had a week to learn it,” Gauff said, acknowledging the “growing pains” of her new technique.
Macci’s confidence in Gauff’s potential is unwavering. He praises her elite movement, likening her to an “Olympic sprinter with a racquet,” and believes her first serve could one day hit 130 mph. “Coco does not need to work harder. She now needs to work smarter,” he advised, cautioning against rushed technical changes with the Cincinnati Open and US Open looming. Instead, he recommends off-season work to biomechanically rewire her serve and forehand, which he also sees as needing an “ATP-style” overhaul to match her rock-solid backhand. “If she went into combat with an ATP forehand and platform serve, she’d be No. 1 and stay there,” Macci asserted.
As Gauff heads to Cincinnati, where she won her first WTA 1000 title in 2023, the pressure is on to stabilize her serve. Macci’s bold claim—that her second serve can be transformed into a weapon in under an hour—offers hope, but it hinges on precise biomechanical adjustments. With her mental toughness, blazing speed, and a fanbase eager for her to challenge Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek for the top spot, Gauff’s journey to refine her serve could define her 2025 legacy.
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