John McEnroe has identified something Coco Gauff is now doing more on court that may be impacting her performances.
At just 20 years old, the American has claimed a Grand Slam title, spent multiple weeks inside the world’s top two and three and is arguably the biggest star on the WTA Tour today.
But the scrutiny and expectation on her shoulders intensified over the summer with very important tournaments such as Wimbledon, the Olympic Games and the US Open all taking place.
But Coco Gauff failed to perform well at each of those events and she heads into the final portion of the season with plenty of work to do to try and turn her form around.
What has John McEnroe noticed about Coco Gauff’s game recently?
During Gauff’s defeat to compatriot Emma Navarro at Wimbledon in July, she had words with her box and she looked very flustered during the contest, which is uncharacteristic for the 2023 US Open champion.
On the two occasions she played at Roland Garros both for the French Open and Olympics in 2024, the American had heated discussions with the chair umpire while disputing a line call which left her in tears.
She showed more signs of frustration during her US Open contest with Navarro and John McEnroe thinks Gauff showing her emotions more on court may be due to the significant amount of pressure and expectation she was carrying over the summer, and particularly in New York.
“I don’t know what has happened. She is still having issues with her serve, she is still having issues with her forehand,” McEnroe told Eurosport.
“She seems to be more outwardly frustrated on the court and venting more than I’ve seen before. I guess that’s just the pressure of expectations.
“People are just saying ‘oh, go and follow in the footsteps of Serena Williams’. You are like ‘oh really, that will be easy’. Give me a break.”
Coco Gauff’s ranking plummets after disappointing summer
Once she reached the French Open semi-finals in June, Gauff’s form and results took a shocking turn for the worse.
After Navarro beat her at Wimbledon, she only reached the third round of the Olympic Games, before suffering early defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati.
Gauff could only reach round four at the US Open and in the process failed to defend her title, and her ranking suffered as a result.
The player reached a career-high ranking of number two in June, but has now fallen to number six, behind US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula who is the World number three for the first time, while Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini remain in positions four and five respectively.
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