Olympic gold medalist shocked by move Coco Gauff has made recently which may not have been needed

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Coco Gauff made a surprising move on the eve of the 2025 US Open.

Just days before the US Open began, Gauff split with her coach Matt Daly, who had guided her to the Roland Garros title just months earlier.

Gauff replaced Daly with biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan in a bid to fix her serve, which caused her real problems in Canada and Cincinnati.

With MacMillan in her corner, Gauff reached the fourth round of the US Open, where she fell to Japan’s Naomi Osaka in straight sets.

As she now prepares for her quarterfinal match in Beijing, Gauff has been told by a former Olympic gold medalist that perhaps the serve wasn’t her biggest problem after all…

Elena Dementieva was surprised Coco Gauff didn’t focus on improving her forehand instead of serve

During the latest episode of ‘Hardcourt’, 2008 Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva shared her thoughts on Gauff’s latest coaching hire.

“I’m surprised that she chose a serving specialist, because in my point of view, it would be a good idea for her to somehow reconsider her forehand,” she said.

“She is, of course, very well physically developed, but there is a one-handed game going on there. Right now, she’s just saving herself with her good physical shape, but there are some significant areas that can be corrected.”

Dementieva isn’t sure the double faults are holding Gauff back as much as she thinks.

“I’m surprised, because you know she says she makes a huge amount of double faults, but it doesn’t stand out in the game,” she said.

“You know, she wins Grand Slams with them, and when she makes them, is it a psychological problem or a physical one. I can’t say that I associate it with the technique.”

The Russian may not believe the double faults are a big problem for Gauff, although the stats tell a different story.

Gauff has made 100 more double faults than all but one player on the WTA Tour so far in 2025.

WTA double fault leaders in 2025

• 1. Coco Gauff – 347
• 2. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 252
• 3. Marta Kostyuk – 241
• 4. Alycia Parks – 240
• 5. Jelena Ostapenko – 233
• 6. Amanda Anisimova – 230
• 7. Linda Noskova – 229
• 8. Daria Kasatkina – 220
• 9. Dayana Yastremska – 219
• 10. Ashlyn Krueger – 215

The world number three has been without serving expert MacMillan this week, but the double-faulting numbers have remained consistent.

After averaging 6.75 double faults per match with MacMillan at the US Open, Gauff has averaged 6.3 per match without him at the China Open.

Gauff will hope those numbers don’t rise during the latter stages of the tournament, as she looks to defend her title in Beijing.

Who will Coco Gauff play next at the China Open?

Winning two of her first three matches at the China Open in a deciding set, Gauff booked her place in the quarterfinals.

• 2025 China Open 2R – Coco Gauff defeated Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-4, 6-0
• 2025 China Open 3R – Coco Gauff defeated Leylah Fernandez, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
• 2025 China Open 4R – Coco Gauff defeated Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2

There, she will meet Germany’s Eva Lys, the world number 66.

Gauff will set foot on the court as a heavy favorite to reach the semis, where she would play either Amanda Anisimova or Jasmine Paolini.

The American doesn’t hold a winning record against either player, but would be eager to get her revenge on Paolini, having lost to her three times in 2025 alone.

Coco Gauff vs Amanda Anisimova

Coco Gauff vs Jasmine Paolini

If she were to advance to the final, she’d play one of Emma Navarro, Jessica Pegula, Sonay Kartal, or Linda Noskova with the title on the line.

Gauff won’t want to get ahead of herself, though, and will first focus on her quarterfinal match with Lys on Thursday, October 2.