Coco Gauff made a triumphant return to tennis in Beijing at the China Open.
After Gauff lost to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of the US Open, the American chose to rest up before making the trip to Asia.
Playing her first match in China, Gauff defeated Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0.
The 21-year-old didn’t waste any time booking her place in the third round of the China Open, where she will play former Grand Slam finalist Leylah Fernandez.
It was a good start for Gauff in Beijing, but how well did she serve against Rakhimova, with expert coach Gavin MacMillan missing from her box?
Coco Gauff served five double faults against Kamilla Rakhimova
On the eve of the US Open, Gauff replaced Matt Daly with MacMillan in a bid to fix her serve, which caused her real issues in Montreal and Cincinnati.
MacMillan hasn’t travelled with Gauff to Asia due to prior commitments, but how did her serve look, five matches into their coaching relationship?
| Match | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| China Open 1R vs Kamilla Rakhimova | 4 | 5 | 68% | 71% | 73% |
| US Open 4R vs Naomi Osaka | 3 | 5 | 66% | 52% | 83% |
| US Open 3R vs Magadlena Frech | 1 | 4 | 76% | 71% | 71% |
| US Open 2R vs Donna Vekic | 2 | 8 | 69% | 64% | 45% |
| US Open 1R vs Ajla Tomljanovic (three sets) | 4 | 10 | 60% | 66% | 60% |
| Average | 3 | 6 | 68% | 65% | 66% |
Gauff’s serve looked solid against Rakhimova, showing no signs of regression since the US Open.
The five double faults are far from ideal, but don’t look nearly as bad when you consider her numbers during her final matches with Daly as coach…
| Match | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| Cincinnati Open QF vs Jasmine Paolini (three sets) | 2 | 16 | 66% | 64% | 46% |
| Cincinnati Open 4R vs Lucia Bronzetti | 6 | 3 | 79% | 63% | 0% |
| Cincinnati Open 2R vs Wang Xinyu | 5 | 8 | 58% | 74% | 65% |
| Canadian Open 4R vs Victoria Mboko | 1 | 5 | 43% | 68% | 60% |
| Canadian Open 3R vs Veronika Kudermetova | 5 | 14 | 61% | 72% | 83% |
| Average | 4 | 9 | 61% | 68% | 51% |
Comparing the two datasets, Gauff has clearly made improvements to her serve since replacing Daly with MacMillan.
Coco Gauff’s average serving stats
| Matches | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| First five average with Gavin MacMillan | 3 | 6 | 68% | 65% | 66% |
| Last five average with Matt Daly | 4 | 9 | 61% | 68% | 51% |
Dropping her double fault count from an average of nine to six has made a real difference, as has winning 15% more points on her second serve.
If those numbers continue to trend in the right direction, then who knows what Gauff can achieve in China?
After all, she is the defending champion!
Coco Gauff’s route to a second China Open title
12 months ago, Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova in the final to win her maiden WTA 1000 title.
Returning as the number-two seed in 2025, Gauff will have to beat some of the very best players on the WTA Tour if she wants to defend her title.
Coco Gauff’s projected route to the China Open title (By ranking)
- 2R [WIN] vs Kamilla Rakhimova
- 3R vs Leylah Fernandez (25)
- 4R vs Belinda Bencic (15)
- QF vs Elena Rybakina (8)
- SF vs Amanda Anisimova (3)
- F vs Iga Swiatek (1)
Potential matches against Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova, and Iga Swiatek will no doubt excite Gauff and her fans, although she won’t want to get too far ahead of herself.
She’ll now focus on taking down Canada’s Fernandez, whom she has played twice previously.
The pair first met at the United Cup earlier this year, where Gauff secured the win in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
They met again later in the month at the Australian Open, battling it out for a place in the fourth round.
There, Gauff extended her head-to-head record to 2-0, as she beat Fernandez in straight sets once again.
Only time will tell if Gauff can make it three in a row when she plays Fernandez in the third round of the 2025 China Open.
Gauff and Fernandez will contest their third-round match on Saturday, September 27.
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