Rennae Stubbs says what she would tell Coco Gauff during matches if she was her coach

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Coco Gauff has made huge strides in a short period of time after parting ways with coach Brad Gilbert.

Gauff thanked Gilbert after their split, with the former having won the 2023 US Open under the guidance of the latter.

But he was replaced by Matt Daly before the China Open, with Gauff going on to win the tournament in Beijing.

She came short in the subsequent Wuhan Open, falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.

But there was no shame in losing to the US Open winner, who the American incidentally beat to clinch her maiden Grand Slam last year.

Rennae Stubbs explains how she would coach Coco Gauff

Moreover, Gauff should be proud of the progress she has already made with Daly, having really struggled for consistency earlier this season.

There is, however, still room for improvement in the eyes of Rennae Stubbs, who said of Gauff in the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast: “I think in those moments if I was in her coaching box prior to the match, or at any time, I would just get this in her head during practice.

“And you know as a player, I used to get a bit yippy on my serve, you just know it. So you have to in practice put them into the mindset. I would say okay, you have just broke and you are serving for the match. Serving for the tournament. If you hold serve you are going to win the match or the tournament. I would say that just as she was about to serve.

“You automatically, even in practice, get a bit nervous because you put yourself into that mindset. I used to do this with Sam [Stosur], with Sam in the last couple of years of her career where she was really struggling on her serve to get it in court, and this is one of the greatest servers of all time. She had a yip problem as well. So it became a mental problem.

“And I would be like 30-40 break point down, 4-4 in the third. And all of a sudden you quickly go there. It’s the only thing you can do to emulate or put them in that position they could be in the court.

“I would say do it in practice and also say if this starts happening – because when she gets her first serve in it’s still a humungous serve – but if you are not getting your first serve in, and you know now, you are starting to get very tight on the second serve, I would say take some off the first serve and get it in.

“Because the last thing you can afford is to give free points away. And also your second serve is so average that even when you get it in, Sabalenka is smashing it.”

Coco Gauff makes huge strides in China Open and Wuhan Open

It has been a fantastic period for Gauff, who was entering the China Open immediately after losing in the US Open round of 16.

She went on to beat the likes of Naomi Osaka, Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova in Beijing, and took the first set against Sabalenka before that Wuhan defeat.

The negativity surrounding her has now significantly lessened, particularly after Gauff qualified for the WTA Finals Riyadh.

READ MORE: Coco Gauff admits what really ‘surprised’ her about her serve during the Wuhan Open

Joining the 20-year-old in qualifying on Monday were Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini and fellow American Jessica Pegula.

Gauff meanwhile overtook her compatriot in the latest WTA rankings, with the youngster moving up one spot into third.