Andrea Petkovic has a ‘hot take’ about Coco Gauff which she has just gone public with

Follow us on Google Discover

Coco Gauff has suffered several tough defeats during the early stages of her 2025 WTA Tour campaign.

The American star began the year with ambitions of closing the gap to the world’s top two players, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.

Four months into the year, that hasn’t happened yet, as Gauff continues to slip up against lower-ranked opponents.

Gauff’s latest defeat to Magda Linette in the Miami Open fourth round saw her record slip to 4-4 post-Australian Open.

While the 21-year-old prepares for the beginning of her clay court season in Germany, one former WTA star shares her ‘hot take’ on why Gauff has struggled recently.

Andrea Petkovic’s ‘hot take’ on Coco Gauff is that she has slipped back into old habits with her serve

Speaking on the Becker Petkovic podcast, former world number nine Andrea Petkovic gave her honest opinion on Gauff’s form in 2025.

“This is my hot take. I think what happened when she hired the new coach, Matt Daly, he changed her grip on the serve a bit,” she said.

“My theory is, when you change a grip, with time, if you don’t remember it all the time, it goes back to the old grip.

“If you’re not constantly being warned, hey, think about the new grip, think about the new grip [then you will revert to the old grip].”

The German has noticed Gauff’s double-faults increase over recent months.

“In the last two, three tournaments of last year and the first two tournaments of this year, she had hardly any double faults, one or two per match,” said Petkovic.

“Now in the match against [Magda] Linette, twelve double faults.

“In the match in Indian Wells, which she lost, eight doubles faults in three sets.

“22 in three sets in Indian Wells in the second round. She won the match in the end, but with 22 double faults.”

“So, something is not right with the serve.

“My theory is that the grip has gone back to the old one, and therefore, it does not work at the moment.”

Petkovic then took a closer look at the technical problems Gauff is currently having with her serve.

“If you take a closer look at her at the serve, she throws the ball very far forward; it is very difficult to serve a kick from there,” she said.

“Then she has to serve a slice, and if you’re nervous and don’t pull a slice through and make your wrist fast, it’ll fly long.

“Suddenly, it goes into the net, then the ball doesn’t even get over the net anymore.

“So it’s really a technical problem that I think starts with the grip and then transfers to the whole game.”

Gauff’s serve was particularly poor against Moyuka Uchijama in her opening match at Indian Wells, hitting 21 double faults in three sets.

• 21 Double Faults
• 65% First serve
• 65% points won on first serve
• 48% points won on second serve

Coco Gauff on track to fall out of the top ten after recent results in 2025

World number three Gauff will hope to find a solution to her serving problems soon, as she currently sits 11th in the WTA race.

The WTA race tracks points earned by a player in a calendar year, and the top eight players qualify for the WTA Finals in November.

Gauff will be searching for a big performance at the Stuttgart Open WTA 500 event as she looks to put herself in contention for a place at the tour finals later this year.

The 2025 Stuttgart Open, featuring Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Gauff, will begin on April 17.