Coco Gauff’s 2023 and 2024 US Open editions are two sides of a pole. A year ago, the then-19-year-old defeated Aryna Sabalenka and won her maiden Grand Slam title. She became the first American teenager to win the women’s singles title since Serena Williams in 1999. Whereas this year, Emma Navarro knocked out the American in the R16. Point of concern being: a total of 60 unforced errors and 19 double faults in that match. While Gauff’s second serve has been her weakness all this year, several tennis experts, including Serena Williams‘ former coach Rennae Stubbs, are criticizing her and her team.

Stubbs has been quite vocal about Coco Gauff‘s lack of “confidence” and “bad technique” over the last few months. Ahead of of the tournament, Stubbs, talking about Coco’s mental state, said “I feel so sorry for her because all the lights are on her and she’s not in a good space, she’s mentally not in a good space. She’s getting very upset on the court.” We all saw what happened at the Wimbledon against the same opponent.

Gauff appeared visibly frustrated during the match, consulting with her team for advice on how to regain momentum. However, Stubbs felt that Brad Gilbert made a tactical error by speaking openly with Gauff on the court, as Navarro’s team could potentially hear their conversation. Given Gauff’s repeated struggles against Navarro, Stubbs couldn’t help but criticize Gilbert’s coaching decisions during an ESPN conversation on September 2.

The veteran coach questioned, “Where is Coco’s confidence?” Continuing further, the 53-year-old Aussie tennis legend pointed out the clear difference between Gauff and Navarro’s game. “The thing with Emma [Navarro] is that she is always looking to attack and most women are looking to attack because they often see a slow second serve in women’s tennis. Not like in the men’s.” Whereas, “Sometimes she (Gauff) was hitting at like in a mid-90-s second serve, then she was going a little bit slower in the middle. There’s no second serve, that’s the sign. And that’s a problem,” said Stubbs.

Gilbert attempted to justify Gauff’s struggles by claiming that she performs well in practice but fails to execute her skills in matches. Stubbs countered this argument, emphasizing the pressure-free environment of practice sessions and reminding Gilbert of Billie Jean King’s observation that “bad technique breaks down under pressure.” She also criticized Gauff’s mechanics, including her low elbow, unconventional grip, and facial expression during serves.

“So under pressure, bad technique breaks down and her technique is…hard for me to say because Brad [Gilbert] is sitting here…but her technique, the elbow, is too low, the grip is a little weird as well. So it’s hard for her to get that nice first serve and then the same or similar second serve,” Stubbs concluded.

After a long stretch in the commentating booth at ESPN, Gilbert got off to a quick start with Gauff and her team in late July 2023 as a consultant before the Citi Open in Washington. From claiming her biggest career title two weeks later in Cincinnati, to clinching her maiden Grand Slam, Gauff-Gilbert partnership has been a hit. But it is the year 2024 that has brought the two under scanner.

Brad Gilbert once admitted that as soon as he joined Gauff’s team, he used to get bombarded with text calling for him to “fix” her forehand and grip. Even in March this year, we heard Stubbs say, “You can’t be a coach and say, You’re not going to work on someone’s weakness,” to Gilbert. So, this has been cooking for some time now. And now, with this disappointing result, it seems the pressure lid might have just been opened. What did Coco Gauff say though, after the loss?

“It’s not the summer that I want” – Coco Gauff after her R4 US Open loss

Just a few weeks ago, we heard Rennae Stubbs explain that she thinks there’s a “lot of voices coming her way.” According to her, Coco Gauff is someone who is always in the limelight. So, this is something which Stubbs feels can be a bit difficult to handle for the youngster. Is it the real factor though behind her recent loss?

Well, according to Coco Gauff, “Mentally and emotionally I gave it my all. Of course, there were things execution-wise, where I wish I could serve better.” She feels she fought really hard, but she has also admitted that the poor serves have played a huge role in bringing up this massive difference in the match.

“I think if I would did that, it would have been a different story for me in the match,” Gauff said in the post-match interview. However, she acknowledged her opponent’s valiant efforts, saying Emma Navarro did “everything well” to be on the winning side.

With this disappointing result, it’s now almost certain that Gauff will push outside of the Top 5 in the women’s singles ranking for the first time in quite some time. Share your thoughts on Coco Gauff’s performance at the 2024 US Open.