Coco Gauff has began her season in impressive fashion, having been named the most valuable player (MVP) in the USA’s United Cup victory.
Gauff won all seven of her matches at the United Cup, headlined by her final victory over world number two Iga Swiatek.
After beating Swiatek, Gauff used a shovel celebration to symbolise digging deep to beat an opponent that she had previously struggled with.
The American has now won a title to begin the last three seasons, having previously lifted the title in Auckland in both 2022 and 2023.
Despite this, Gauff believes that she could have served better in the final and ranked her performance at a seven/eight out of 10.
Rennae Stubbs assesses Coco Gauff’s level before the Australian Open as she notices improvement in her forehand
Gauff is already a Grand Slam champion, having won the US Open title back in 2023.
However, the 20-year-old has struggled due to her forehand in recent years, with Gauff hitting 28 unforced errors from that wing against Swiatek at Roland Garros last year.
Since then, Gauff has switched coaches from Brad Gilbert to Matt Daly, and has subsequently won the following two matches against Swiatek.
This includes the most recent victory over the Pole at the United Cup, where Gauff hit only nine unforced errors in total.
Rennae Stubbs, who is a former number one doubles player, spoke on her podcast about the improvements that Gauff has made in the off-season.
“Coco is looking unbelievable,” said Stubbs. “Forehand is not missing. Serving well. Not double faulting up a storm. And her match against Iga, I mean, she outlasted Iga. Her fitness is through the roof. If anyone follows Coco on Instagram, she posted some of her training schedule in the off season. Look out. It is paying off.
“If she doesn’t miss her forehand, which she is not doing any more. There is nowhere to go on the tennis court against Coco Gauff. She runs every ball down, she is the best athlete. We saw the two best athletes going at it in Iga and Coco and the difference is that Coco gets that loop on the forehand now, Iga is trying to mix up the speed on her forehand and her ground strokes, she is trying to get some high balls in there which is very good for her to do.
“She needs to change the pace, particularly against someone like a Coco. But the fact Coco doesn’t miss now, she is willing to move forward a bit more than Iga, Iga has to be more comfortable coming into the net. But against someone like Coco where she runs the ball down, she can hit a winner past you, because her speed is able to get over the ball. Coco is getting over there and passing you, so if you are not a great mover into the net, you are going to be in trouble against her.”
Coco Gauff’s recent performances at the Australian Open
Gauff is now being backed as one of the big challengers for the Australian Open, with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2023 runner-up Elena Rybakina also being favoured.
Last year saw Gauff achieve her best result in Melbourne, going all the way to the semi-finals before being beaten by the aforementioned Sabalenka.
| Year | Result | Opponent and Score |
| 2020 | Fourth Round | Beaten by Sofia Kenin (14), 6(5)-7 6-3 6-0 |
| 2021 | Second Round | Beaten by Elina Svitolina (5), 6-3 6-4 |
| 2022 | First Round | Beaten by Qiang Wang, 6-4 6-2 |
| 2023 | Fourth Round | Beaten by Jelena Ostapenko (17), 7-5 6-3 |
| 2024 | Semi-finals | Beaten by Aryna Sabalenka (2), 7-6(2) 6-4 |
Gauff will look to continue her good form as the third seed at the Australian Open, with the main draw getting underway on Sunday January 12.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
