40 Years Into Shaping Champions Like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, 68-Year-Old Tennis Veteran Criticizes Coco Gauff’s Coaches for ‘Band-Aid’ Style Treatment of Her Weaknesses

There’s no doubt about the fact that American sensation Coco Gauff has a lot of potential. In her nascent tennis career so far, Gauff has already bagged several singles and doubles titles on the WTA Tour. Many experts believe that her Grand Slam winning days are not very far away. However, despite Gauff’s undoubted talent and potential, there still are some question marks surrounding her game. It was recently laid bare by the Hall of Famer coach, Rick Macci, who had shaped the careers of several legendary names in both the ATP and the WTA Tours.

In a tweet, Rick Macci, who coached legendary names like Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, and Venus and Serena Williams, had a go at Gauff’s coaches. According to Macci, her coaching staff has done very little to address the one glaring chink in Gauff’s armor.

Coco Gauff needs reflex reprogramming, claims Rick Macci

Gauff still has a long way to go in terms of mastering her playing style. In the coming months and years, Gauff will be hoping to figure out a permanent solution to her forehand problem. According to Macci, Gauff’s problem is the result of her reflexes, which affect her forehand technique and have become second nature for the young American prodigy.

In his tweet, Macci wrote, “@cocogauff and her forehand will be addressed and will become her best shot someday.” He went on to write, “(Gauff) needs time off with the exact biomechanical plan to reprogram the reflexes of 12 years and confuse the muscle memory.”

Macci saved his most stinging critique of Gauff’s forehand for the last. “All the advice the past 5 years has been a band aid.” It’s fair to say that Gauff’s coaches over the last 5 years won’t be too pleased with Macci’s opinion.

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How has Gauff’s weakness affected her results?

When the 2023 season got underway, there were several fans and experts who believed Gauff would emerge as a major threat to her more experienced and higher ranked colleagues. However, some of Gauff’s performances have left a lot to be desired. At the Miami Open, Anastasia Potapova eliminated Gauff in the third round.

Gauff’s unpredictable forehand cost her in two high-profile matches in 2022. The first one was at the WTA Finals, while the second one was in the final of the 2022 French Open against Iga Swiatek. Let’s hope Macci’s tweet serves as a wake-up call for Gauff’s coaching team. After all, a strong and consistent forehand is something that she would need to become a Grand Slam winner.

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