Coco Gauff is safely into the round of 16 of the Italian Open, but her double fault issue continues to be a problem.
Gauff produced a superb fightback to defeat Solana Sierra 5-7, 6-0, 6-4, emerging victorious after two hours and 10 minutes.
The American third seed now meets her compatriot Iva Jovic in Rome, where she will be eager to limit the number of double faults on serve.
Gauff recorded five during her Italian Open win against Sierra, with the world number four having hit seven in her opening win over Tereza Valentova.
The 22-year-old remains in the WTA 1000 tournament despite the concerns, which have now been addressed by a former coach of Serena Williams.
Prove us wrong…
Coco Gauff told how to fix double fault issue
Rick Macci, who worked closely with the 23-time Grand Slam champion, posted on X: “Coco has the heart of a lion.
“She is unique in many ways. Quickest/fastest and best overall athlete on tour. She wins on gifts from above.
“The serve has biomechanically improved on a few elements but the ONLY way to really flip the double fault script to rewire the muscle memory with a clean slate from take back to stance (PLATFORM) and I have no doubt her serve will be her best friend instead of sometimes her worst nightmare.”
Who is America’s best female player right now?
Coco Gauff continues worrying double fault trend
Whether or not Gauff takes the advice on board remains to be seen, but it’s clear that double faults continue to impact her game very negatively.
It isn’t, of course, a new issue for the superstar, who led the entire WTA Tour for double faults in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
READ MORE: Rennae Stubbs says there are big ‘question marks’ over Coco Gauff after Madrid
And perhaps unsurprisingly, she is already top of the unwanted list in the 2026 season, but worryingly by some margin.
Gauff leads the current standings with 183 double faults, with Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva second on the list with 132.
The American finished last season with 431, and the season before with 430, and is seemingly heading for a similar tally this time around.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
