Coco Gauff still has not managed to fix her serving issues under the wing of biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan.
Gauff appointed MacMillan ahead of the 2025 US Open after parting ways with former coach Matt Daly amid serving struggles.
Since then, the American has won the Wuhan Open and finished as the runner-up at the Miami Open, but the issues with service remain.
Who is America’s best female player right now?
Across the entirety of the WTA Tour, no player has recorded more double faults than Gauff, with the 21-year-old having tallied 162; 50 more than Victoria Mboko, who has the second-most.
MacMillan enjoyed success fixing Aryna Sabalenka’s serve in the past, but has not been able to correct Gauff’s; a task former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash suggested should be ‘very simple’.
Pat Cash analyses Coco Gauff’s serving problems
Speaking in an episode of ‘Nothing Major‘, Cash said: “Coco is missing one of the fundamental things that I talk about, and that’s the one-third balance in our serves, which is partially forwards and backwards, up and down and the rotation.
“So you need to get those things in balance, and Coco is missing one of those. It’s pretty simple, and for me, it’s just slightly off sequence.
“I’ve had to coach against her, of course, on the women’s tour when I was coaching Wang Qiang. We played her about three times in a row in about six months, and the third time, Q worked her game out.
“And we know Coco’s serve has been up and down, and I saw some improvements in the Australian Open.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
“I thought, oh, I think she’s almost got it, but it takes a lot of practice. It takes a lot of practice to get that right and a real lot of dedication to fixing her little issues, but yeah, the balance is not quite there.
“For me, it’s very, very simple how to fix it. Very simple, but it takes a lot of work, and so she’s maybe not quite got it there, and there are other things in her game as well that she needs to work on, but she’s a great player, and she’s a great athlete, so she should be able to fix these things.
“It’s one thing knowing what to do. It’s one thing sort of saying, oh, she does this. It’s like, yeah, I know if she does that. How do you fix it? That’s the thing.
“I think it takes a lot of experience, and maybe Gavin has it, maybe he doesn’t. I’m not sure. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Pat Cash says Coco Gauff’s technique ‘keeps breaking down’
Asked about Gauff’s mentality, Cash responded: “It doesn’t matter how mentally tough you are, if your biomechanics and technique is faulty, you’re just going to serve double faults. There’s no way around it.
“I hear this mental thing. It’s because her technique keeps breaking down. My philosophy on coaching and training is that the technique is the most important thing.
“If you don’t have the technique, you will get found out at some stage in your tennis career, and that needs to hold up under pressure.”
Gauff served seven double faults in the Miami Open final against Aryna Sabalenka, which she lost in three sets.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
