Coco Gauff has gone from hero to zero in less than a month, with the French Open champion losing her first round match at Wimbledon.
Gauff was backed to go far at Wimbledon, which she entered as a two-time Grand Slam champion after her recent success in Paris.
The American won the 2023 US Open against Aryna Sabalenka, and defeated the Belarusian once more in last month’s French Open final.
But Gauff has now blown her chances of a third career Grand Slam title after losing her Wimbledon first round clash with Dayana Yastremska.
The WTA number two lasted less than one-and-a-half hours against the Ukrainian, who secured a 7-6(7-3), 6-1 win on Court 1.
Coco Gauff’s biggest problem reappears in shock Wimbledon defeat
Gauff struggled in the locker room after the loss, in which one weakness of her game once again became apparent.
The 21-year-old finished the match with a total of six winners and 29 unforced errors, with the latter including nine double faults.
In contrast, Yastremska had just three double faults throughout the match, helping her into round two of the grass court Grand Slam.
The world number 42 now takes on Russian Anastasia Zakharova in round two, while Gauff really should look into addressing her double fault problem.
Tracy Austin shares verdict on recurring Coco Gauff problem
The entire tennis world is well aware of Gauff’s ability on the court, with her fantastic serve key to her success.
But such ability has worryingly been overshadowed at times by her second serve struggles, with Tracy Austin among those to have noticed the issue.
The two-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one said on BBC TV amid Gauff’s latest match: “Coco Gauff’s serve can be a huge weapon but also at points in her career it can be a liability with double faults.”
It is, however, definitely worth remembering that Gauff is only 21 years old, meaning there is plenty of time to iron out her double fault issue.
In that light, her achievements on the WTA Tour so far must be commended, with the American already into double digits for career titles.
Just like Austin noted, it is not a new phenomenon for Gauff, who remarkably finished the 2024 WTA season at the very top of the list for double faults.
| Rank | Player | Matches | Double faults |
| 1 | Coco Gauff | 41 | 241 |
| 2 | Jelena Ostapenko | 30 | 179 |
| 3 | Marta Kostyuk | 30 | 168 |
| 4 | Ashlyn Krueger | 33 | 162 |
| 5 | Mirra Andreeva | 43 | 161 |
She posted 430 double faults from her 71 matches, and perhaps unsurprisingly is continuing that trend this time around.
The American once again worryingly tops the pile, posting a huge 241 double faults from her 41 matches so far.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
