Coco Gauff finished as the runner-up in Rome for the second season in a row on Saturday.
A year on from her final defeat to Jasmine Paolini, Gauff fell again in the Italian Open final, this time to Elina Svitolina.
Svitolina defeated the American in three sets, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 to hoist the trophy in the Eternal City for the third time in her career.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
Despite the loss, Gauff enjoyed a strong week at the WTA 1000 event, with impressive wins over Iva Jovic and Mirra Andreeva.
Big improvements were made to her serve in Rome, having struggled with the shot a lot over the past year.
Greg Rusedski discusses Coco Gauff’s serving improvements
Gauff has been working with biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan since the US Open last year, whom she appointed to help with her serving struggles.
While the hire has taken some time to work out, Gauff certainly showed promising signs in Rome, keeping the double fault tally relatively low compared to previous outings.
Speaking in an episode of ‘Off Court with Greg‘, former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski analysed Gauff’s serving changes.
Rusedski said: “You rock back, you turn, and then you push up and drive up; those are the three sort of motions you need [in a serve].
“If you look at her upper body, it was collapsing. In Rome, her upper body wasn’t collapsing after the serve as much, and the consistency was better out there, so that was the positive.
Who is your favorite player on the WTA Tour right now?
“Also, the forehand looks a little bit better when she needs to change directions up the line, so you always look at second serve and forehand, and if she’s confident and the serve is firing, that’s a great job done if she feels like she’s nearly there.
“Coco, to me, mentally is one of the strongest on the tour with Svitolina, so we had the two mentally toughest players and the ones who are tactically very astute, so yes, we saw that little bit of miss hit in the doubles alley, but it can be windy in Rome and conditions were pretty tough, so that’s a huge positive for all the Coco Gauff fans out there.
“The strongest weapon for any players is between the ears. What do the best players do on the big points? They play them better than anybody. That’s why they’re the top in the world.
“And if she feels like the belief is there, and mentally, she is being truthful about it, then that’s a huge positive, and for me, she’s just tough as nails.
“She’s a brilliant competitor and she’s maximising. If she gets that serve where it needs to be, she climbs possibly up to number one in the world.”
Coco Gauff’s results during the clay season so far
Gauff did not get off to the best of starts on the clay swing, having suffered an early exit at the Stuttgart Open.
Things didn’t improve much for Gauff at the Madrid Open, where she picked up two wins before bowing out in the round of 16.
But then in Rome, she showed determination by coming back from a set down in three separate matches en route to the championship match.
Now, Gauff will set her sights on Roland Garros, where she is the defending champion.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
