Coco Gauff is not heading into the US Open in the form that she would have liked to have been in.
Gauff was beaten by Jasmine Paolini in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals, in her second consecutive defeat to the Italian.
It was not a tidy match from either player, but particularly Gauff, who hit 62 unforced errors and 16 double faults.
As a result of her latest defeat, Gauff could now be overtaken by Iga Swiatek in the WTA rankings.
Chanda Rubin has concerns for Coco Gauff ahead of the US Open
The serve has been a big issue for Gauff throughout the North American hard court swing so far, but she has still managed to find a way to come through a lot of matches in spite of it.
However, when discussing concerns ahead of the US Open, former top 10 singles player and Grand Slam doubles champion Chanda Rubin explained how she noticed Gauff’s demeanour being more negative towards her team against Paolini.
“But Coco Gauff, she won Roland Garros, she made a tough transition onto the grass, she figured kind of, tough turnaround, she had a lot of things going on, she didn’t quite get it going there,” Rubin said on Tennis Channel.
“Now to start the hard court swing, she’s won a few matches, she’s won some matches here, didn’t have to play a couple of matches. But I just thought she might be in a bit of a better place.
“We saw it with the double faults, she handles it so beautifully, but we saw her start to get a little bit frayed, get a little irritated, kind of direct it to her team there, so that for me would be the only concern.
“How is she feeling? Does she feel confident she can work through some tough matches in New York? Does she have enough matches behind her on the hard courts?
“So, that would be my concern, but certainly she has that ability, she has the athleticism to turn it on and in New York she gets such incredible energy, I think that’s going to go a long way for her. But certainly, the game was a little frustrating for her, certainly yesterday against Paolini.”
Lindsay Davenport claims Aryna Sabalenka has more pressure than Coco Gauff at the US Open
While there are big concerns for Gauff heading into her home major this year, there are also some about world number one and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka as well.
This is something that former top 10 player CoCo Vandeweghe has spoken about, pointing out Sabalenka’s major final defeats at Roland Garros and the Australian Open already this year.
Vandeweghe commentated on her most recent defeat against Elena Rybakina, where she claimed Sabalenka was simply unable to dictate play like she is usually able to.
“I think I got to say Sabalenka, honestly,” said Vandeweghe. “Because she has been so close but has fallen short so many times. She’s been world number one, she is the one that is supposed to have so many titles. I just feel like losing a couple of Grand Slam finals, losing early now, considering this is an early loss for a world number one.
“I think we got to call question marks as to where she is at, because that beating that Rybakina gave her, Chanda and I called that match and it was, she didn’t even have a say so in what was happening out there and for a big hitter that is definitely a gut check of, ‘I just got out-played in my own game style, now what do I do?’.
“I think for Coco, it’s still the same as what we have seen in previous years, but her competitiveness and her tenacity has gotten her through, and especially…she shines in these Grand Slams. So, I’m not as worried for Coco as I am for Aryna.”
Former world number one Lindsay Davenport then weighed into the discussion, claiming Sabalenka has more pressure as Gauff has already won Roland Garros this year.
When voicing her concerns about the Belarusian, Davenport called Sabalenka’s backhand ‘a little bit of a mess’.
“We are talking about two players whose sole goal is to win majors, and to win the US Open, so looking at both of them I think it’s equal, I agree with you guys,” said Davenport.
“If you look at Sabalenka, as CoCo said she has had so many heartbreakers this year, she is going into the last major and she has not won one yet this year, so even more pressure on her. Little bit less on Gauff, because hey she won Roland Garros, so at least when the season’s over she has at least one major.
“But, when you get to the point where you are holding more than one Grand Slam it becomes about winning more majors.
“Sabalenka, she got outhit. Her backhand is a little bit of a mess right now, she is going to have to figure some technique there, use her legs more, way too many errors from that side. And Gauff looked exasperated last night that this was still happening on her serve. You just hope that this doesn’t come up at the US Open when the pressure is even more.”
Both Gauff and Sabalenka will be hoping to correct these frailties in their games by the time the US Open comes around.
They will both go straight into singles, which begins on Sunday, August 24, after Sabalenka revealed she would no longer be playing US Open mixed doubles.
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