For all of Coco Gauff’s incredible poise and talent, there is one weakness she hasn’t been able to overcome – double faults. Last season, she committed 430 double faults in 71 matches with an average of 6 per match. Midway through a rollercoaster of a season, Gauff had to find a solution, and she changed her grip with her new coach, Matt Daly. Although it bore fruit briefly, she is back struggling with the double faults again this season. The 21-year-old has already got 39 double faults to her name (6 in AO QF, 21 in the Indian Wells Opener, and 12 in Miami Open R16), leaving her followers quite concerned. Among them is tennis journalist Jon Wertheim, who is a bit worried about Coco’s inconsistency, but also astonished by her domination in patches despite her shortcomings.

Wertheim appeared on the latest episode of Andy Roddick’s Served podcast, dated 1st April 2025, and discussed a variety of topics, including Novak Dokovic’s loss against Jakub Mensik in the 2025 Miami Open, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka’s form ahead of the clay season, Daria Kasatkina’s new citizenship in Australia, and many more. However, among these, what stood out was Coco Gauff and the technical problems in her game this season. Wertheim pointed out the WTA star’s inconsistency. However, he also highlighted that despite her shortcomings, Coco has shown her indomitable spirit, one that helped her secure a double bagel score against Sofia Kenin in the 2025 Miami Open R64.

“I mean look at her stats, in that defeat last week and you just kind of say Yikes. On the other hand we’ve seen her win majors, playing sub optimal tennis, we have seen her win a lot of matches just grinding through, she is also capable of winning matches love in love. She did in Miami, I just I don’t know how long we can stay on the strop,” he said.

Wertheim has a point. Despite Gauff’s 430 double faults last year, she won the 2024 ASB Classic, 2024 China Open, and 2024 WTA Finals. In tournaments, where she didn’t win the title, she still showed glimpses of her form. She made a deep run in the AO, the Indian Wells Masters, and the Italian Open as well last year. So, she is rolling along. However, the weakness is still there, and it’s a glaring weakness.

Wertheim’s sentiment was echoed by Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs as well, who raised serious concerns over Coco Gauff‘s performance.

Rennae Stubbs thinks Coco Gauff’s double faults can “be a problem for her going forward forever”

On a recent episode of the Rennae Stubbs podcast, dated 31st March 2024, the veteran coach discussed a range of topics with Andrea Petkovic. During the conversation, they naturally talked about Coco Gauff too, and Stubbs firmly admitted, “Her grip is wrong.” She continued, “I think her elbow gets super low and sort of so close to her body. The left arm jumps down.”

The veteran coach also quoted Billie Jean King, shedding light on what is wrong with Gauff’s performance: “Bad technique breaks down under pressure.”

Despite concern, Rennae Stubbs remained hopeful that Coco would bounce back in the upcoming clay season. Mentioning the American star’s strength on the surface, the veteran coach said, “She doesn’t need to go for the big bomb on the first serve because her ability on the baseline is so good.”

Coco Gauff’s ongoing issue with double faults has left her followers doubtful about her performances in the remaining part of the season. However, the World No. 3 still remains unfazed and isn’t letting the setbacks get the better of her. With her fiery and unshaken spirit, do you think Coco Gauff will be able to overcome her weakness during the clay court season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.