Coco Gauff may have even more issues with her serve than first thought according to Brad Gilbert.
Gauff was coached by Gilbert for 14 months between July 2023 and September, which included helping her win her first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
The American’s serve was a big talking point back then and this is still ongoing, even since Gauff hired serve specialist Gavin MacMillan last year.
Gauff appeared frustrated with MacMillan in her semifinal defeat at the Dubai Tennis Championships, and her former coach Gilbert has pointed out another issue he has noticed with her serve.
Brad Gilbert and Alison Riske-Amritraj point out another concern with Coco Gauff’s serve
A lot of discussion surrounding Gauff’s serve has been around the number of double faults she has hit, having hit 31 more double faults than any other player on the WTA Tour so far this year.
When discussing this on The Big T Podcast, Gilbert also pointed out the lack of aces Gauff has hit this year as a concern.
“I know she has been struggling with her serve,” said Gilbert. “103 double faults in 14 matches is a massive number.
“But the thing I am most curious about is that in 14 matches this year is only 19 aces. I feel like for someone who can serve as big as she can, that is a low number and should be way up.”
Prove us wrong…
Gilbert’s comments were echoed by former top 20 player Alison Riske-Amritraj, who claimed that Gauff needed to add more speed into her serves if she wants to win more major titles and become world number one.
“I have to agree with you on that,” Riske-Amritraj responded to Gilbert. “Her mentality in general, knowing that there are flaws in her game, yet knowing all she has been able to accomplish is just remarkable.
“I get tired hearing people talk about the forehand and the serve so I can only imagine how she feels, yet she wins and wins and wins.
“But I would like to see on the serve that I think she is capable of hitting some high miles per hour.
You see her dial it back just to start the point almost. I think for her to get to number one in the world and continue to win Slams against [Aryna] Sabalenka, [Elena] Rybakina and Jess[ica] Pegula, I think you need to start going for that.
“Because she already has so many double faults, what is the harm in going for the first serve? And going for the second serve too? That is something that could really help her.”
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
Where does Coco Gauff rank in terms of aces on the WTA Tour in 2026?
Gilbert and Riske-Amritraj’s point about Gauff’s lack of aces is supported by the statistics in 2026, which puts Gauff at 54th in terms of number of aces.
From her 14 matches so far this year, Gauff has hit 91 fewer aces than Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, who leads this statistic.
Gauff has only hit an average of 1.4 aces per match so far this year, which is over eight fewer than the player leading this statistic in her compatriot Alycia Parks, who hit the fastest serve at the Australian Open in the women’s singles draw last month.
Rybakina and Parks have hit a combined 77 double faults this year, which is still 26 less than Gauff on her own.
| Top 10 Players with the most aces on the WTA Tour in 2026 | Aces | Matches Played |
| 1. Elena Rybakina | 110 | 15 (Average of 7.3 aces per match) |
| 2. Clara Tauson | 80 | 13 (Average of 6.2 aces per match) |
| 3. Victoria Mboko | 79 | 17 (Average of 4.6 aces per match) |
| 4. Alycia Parks | 78 | 8 (Average of 9.8 aces per match) |
| 5. Sorana Cirstea | 74 | 13 (Average of 5.7 aces per match) |
| 6. Xinyu Wang | 70 | 16 (Average of 4.4 aces per match) |
| 7. Elina Svitolina | 68 | 18 (Average of 3.8 aces per match) |
| 8. Linda Noskova | 61 | 9 (Average of 6.8 aces per match) |
| 8. Magda Linette | 61 | 14 (Average of 4.4 aces per match) |
| 10. Elise Mertens | 59 | 13 (Average of 4.5 aces per match) |
| 54. Coco Gauff | 19 | 14 (Average of 1.4 aces per match) |
Gauff will be hoping to make improvements to her serve at her next tournament of Indian Wells.
In her five previous appearances in Indian Wells, Gauff has won 69% of her matches and achieved her best result at the tournament in 2024 when she reached the semifinals.
The main draw of Indian Wells will get underway on Wednesday, March 4.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
