Coco Gauff has suffered back-to-back final defeats after being beaten by Jasmine Paolini at the Italian Open.
Gauff was up against the Italian crowd, as she took on home favourite Paolini for a chance to win her first singles title of the 2025 season.
Paolini was able to get the better of her American opponent, with Gauff unable to play her best tennis in the Rome final.
While Gauff was full of praise for Paolini, others have big concerns for the 2023 US Open champion.
Rick Macci identifies big problem with Coco Gauff’s game after Italian Open final
In her straight-sets defeat to Paolini, Gauff hit a significant 55 unforced errors compared to her opponent who just had 20.
Of those 55 unforced errors, 33 of them came from Gauff’s forehand side, something that has previously been targeted as a weakness.
This is something that was pointed out by Rick Macci, who has previously coached both Serena and Venus Williams.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Macci backed Gauff as a future world number one, but suggested that there are fundamental issues with her forehand that need to be fixed.
“Coco is elite in many ways,” said Macci. “As I said 3 years ago she will be number one on the planet because her backbone is made of granite.
“But her forehand depending on her mind court position opponent ball speed will break down because it is biomechanically disconnected starting from the ground.”
Rick Macci suggests that Coco Gauff’s serve has gone backwards
Gauff’s serve has also been a big talking point this year, as it produced seven double faults against Paolini.
This was highlighted by Gauff only being able to win 52% of her points on first serve, with Macci arguing that her first serve has regressed in recent years.
However, the 70-year-old appears to believe that the serve will take much less work than her forehand.
“Coco and her FIRST SERVE was better two years ago,” claimed Macci. “She hit 128 mph (BANG) in 2022 and now she is stronger and longer.
“Not only can she fire 130 on a regular basis(loose wires and mindset) with a few biomechanical modifications the angle of descent would be greater producing higher % and sharper acute placement. Easy fix.”
Gauff’s serving struggles are evident in 2025, having hit more double faults than any other player on the WTA Tour (151).
Despite these issues, Gauff will rise to world number two when the WTA rankings are next updated.
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