Coco Gauff has made a winning start to her Australian Open campaign, but she still had some issues with her serve.
Gauff beat Iga Swiatek at the United Cup in a mixed start to the 2026 season, where she was also beaten by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
This has left a lot of uncertainty surrounding the world number three, especially as Gauff has been handed a challenging Australian Open draw.
There has been a lot of conversation surrounding Gauff’s serving struggles in recent years, and while she has made strides towards improving this, she still faced some issues in her match against Kamilla Rakhimova.
Coco Gauff explains why she thinks she was hitting double faults against Kamilla Rakhimova
In her first round match at the Australian Open this year, Gauff beat Rakhimova 6-2 6-3 in one hour and 39 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Despite a fairly comfortable victory for the two-time Grand Slam champion, Gauff still hit seven double faults.
When asked about this in her post-match press conference, Gauff was keen to point out that she only hit one double fault in the second set.
“Yeah, I mean, it was just the first set,” said Gauff. “Only had one double in the second. I think both of us were struggling on the far side. The sun is right there, which I know for every time I play first on day here, that’s just how it is.
“But once I got through kind of the first game, I had like three doubles in the first game, and once I got through that game, I mean, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there.
“Maybe I would have liked to put more first serves in the court, for sure. Yeah, I think I just erased that first game, and then after that I was better.”
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
When further questioned on her serve, Gauff explained that she thought she was not accelerating her serve as much in the first set.
“I mean, I felt like given my opponent, someone who I feel like that serve works well, yeah, but I don’t think I was accelerating enough, which is why a lot of the doubles went in the net,” said Gauff.
“As the match went on, I just told myself to accelerate on my serve more. Obviously when that happens, I get more speed and velocity. So I think the next match I’ll try and start quicker than I did today.”
Coco Gauff reveals what she is expecting from Olga Danilovic
After winning her first round match, Gauff will now progress to the second round, where she will play against Olga Danilovic, who beat Venus Williams in the first round.
When asked about her upcoming opponent, Gauff recalled Danilovic’s victory over Jessica Pegula at the Australian Open last year.
“Yeah, I think she’s a great player,” said Gauff. “I think she has good results down here. I remember she beat Jess I think it was two years ago and obviously had a good match last night.
“It’s going to be a tough match. I think she’s a talented player. I’m looking forward to the battles. Not often I get to play a lefty. It will be tough. Yeah, I think if I stay with my game, hopefully I can come out with the result.”
How far do you think Coco Gauff will go with this draw?
Danilovic reached the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, and she could be a potential threat to Gauff.
This will be a first-time meeting between Gauff and Danilovic, which will take place on Wednesday, January 21.
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