How much confidence should Coco Gauff have?
A year ago, Coco Gauff trotted her way into the US Open by winning the Cincinnati Open, taking down World #1 Iga and Karolina Muchova in the semis and finals respectively.
This year, she lost in the Round of 16 in Toronto and the Round of 32 in Cincinnati. So what’s changed?
I want to begin with her biggest weapon, the first serve. Coco has one of the biggest serves in the women’s game, but it’s become her biggest enemy this season. The serving has been all over the place since the tail end of last year. Once she started to miss her first serve, the second serve became so mental it didn’t feel physical. All of her serving form derails once she misses a first serve, and you can see she hears the commentators whispering about her weakness. Too many double faults, period.
These struggles have crept into her baseline game, starting to derail her forehand. Another weapon when it’s on, the form on the forehand is so inconsistent. Coco doesn’t feel confident hitting the open court but even worse, her crosscourt ball feels extremely guided. There’s really no middle ground, and that’s why we see so many errors, especially on the quicker courts. She’s happy to deflect pace, but that’s primarily because it requires less thinking.
The backhand plays superhero when all else fails, but it’s taken on too much weight this season. As a top 5 player on the tour, Coco always has a target on her back. Every opponent comes in with a gameplan, and that’s simply been to attack her forehand and disrupt her rhythm. Coco can be deadly when she’s dictating with the backhand, but it’s felt suffocated all season with the lack of forehand help. The slower surfaces really bring out the scared misses, which show when her mental hurts and the mechanics break down.
Should we expect a bounce back at the US Open?
I think so. Coco has made it a point to be vocal with her aspirations and the home grounds of Queens, New York should bring out the best in her. She finished off a dream summer last year coming from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the final. For me, she needs to be the aggressor in every match she plays. Coco will grow frustrated if she attempts to dictate from the baseline too often. Coming to the net and getting more free points is a great way to get herself going. Once Coco’s in a rhythm having fun with the heavy crowd support, there’s no reason she shouldn’t feel like the Queen in New York. Confidence is key, you got this Coco!!
Until next time…
-Simon
