NEW YORK — Coco Gauff hit 23 double faults in a second-round match in Montreal — nearly an entire set’s worth of points — and somehow managed to win in three sets. She followed that up with 14 more, and the result was the same.
Clearly, though, that sort of service wasn’t sustainable.
Less than two weeks ago in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open, Gauff hit 16 more double faults. But against Jasmine Paolini, a legitimate Top 10 player, it proved fatal. Some 62 of Paolini’s 85 points — nearly 72 percent — came from unforced errors.
That left Gauff with a staggering 320 doubles in 48 matches, approaching an average of seven.
After a team meeting, the call went out to Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics specialist who was instrumental in solving Aryna Sabalenka’s service issues on her way to the No. 1 ranking. Matt Daly, a grip expert who played a big role in Gauff’s success during last year’s Asia swing and her victory at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, was out.
“It was, like, a very sudden decision,” Gauff told reporters ahead of this US Open. “Gavin became available. I just felt this was the best decision for my game, and I had to go with what I was feeling.
“I know Gavin has had experience with this before, so [I’m] hoping I can just take on his knowledge and see what can happen.”
We’ll get our first look on Tuesday night, when Gauff begins play in Arthur Ashe Stadium against Ajla Tomljanovic.
It’s very much a work in progress. After a hitting session with Elina Svitolina last Wednesday, MacMillan — along with Gauff’s longtime coach, Jean-Christophe Faurel — focused aggressively on her service motion.
Sabalenka’s complete buy-in
In 2022, Sabalenka finished with 249 aces, good for sixth among Hologic WTA Tour players — and 428 double faults, by far the most.
Ironically, it was a loss that summer to Gauff in Toronto that drove Sabalenka to find a fix. In a 3-hour, 11-minute match, she hit 18 double faults.
Her team had been in discussions with MacMillan, who played tennis at San Jose State University and founded Sport Science Lab in 2001. But Sabalenka wasn’t ready to make the commitment — until that result in Canada.
“For me, [it] wasn’t really hard because I tried literally everything, and nothing would help me to fix my serve,” Sabalenka explained. “It was the last step before I would say, ‘OK, bye-bye, tennis.’ I was so desperate, so I wasn’t really doubting my decision.”
And while Sabalenka had convinced herself it was a mental issue, MacMillan insisted that it was a matter of poor technique. The biggest problem he identified: Sabalenka’s left arm (her off arm in serving) was dropping too far and pulling the right shoulder with it, drastically affecting accuracy. There were also some suggested tweaks to the positioning of her right arm.
To her credit, Sabalenka bought in completely and the results, she said, could be seen almost immediately. This year, Sabalenka is about where she usually is in aces — seventh, with 219 — but the same number of double faults places her 46th among her peers.
“The moment we [started] working, I felt like, ‘OK, there is something,’” Sabalenka said. “I definitely have a better feeling on my serve. And I just trusted the process, trusted myself. It was about repetitions, a little bit of time, and full commitment to whatever he was saying.
“But everyone is different, and I wish [Gauff and MacMillan] the very best, and hopefully everything can work out well for them.”
Looking for another bounce
Gauff has already benefited from coaching changes on two occasions.
She brought on veteran coach Brad Gilbert, who led her to a sizzling summer in 2023, culminating with the US Open title. But when she failed to defend that title last year, the Gauff team brought in Daly and he provided an almost immediate spark: Gauff won nine of 10 events in Asia and was crowned champion at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
The timing, Gauff conceded, isn’t ideal. She was asked how difficult it would be to make technical adjustments on the fly — on the cusp of a Grand Slam.
“I mean, a tournament is a tournament,” she said. “I hate losing regardless of where I am. If this was a 250, I would feel just as crazy to do it. I’m one of those people, I’m looking at long term. I hope I can get it all together. If not, I have the rest of this year to work on it.
“I know I needed to make a change, a technical change to it, and I don’t want to waste time continuing doing the wrong things.”
ESPN analyst Darren Cahill, who coaches ATP Tour World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, praised the move, saying “This could be a really good relationship.”
Gauff is only 21 years old — the age of an average college junior — but this is her fifth full year on the WTA Tour. She’s already claimed 10 titles, two of them majors. When she won the US Open title two year ago, four of her seven matches — including the final against Sabalenka — went three sets.
“I wasn’t really happy with how I played the whole tournament, and that was a great result for me,” Gauff explained. “I just want to get better. I’m obsessed with the process of getting better. Yeah, sometimes maybe it hurts because I get obsessed with it too much.
“Obviously there is pressure on both of us. But at the same time, I mean, I’m not thinking about the outside opinions. I feel like I have a clear future where I see myself, and I feel like I’m really close. I think this aspect of the game will bring everything together for me.”
