Coco Gauff kicked off her 2025 season on a high as she helped Team USA win the United Cup, beating Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the final. Many thought this was going to be her year. The plan was clear—fix that shaky serve. To make that happen, Gauff turned to two coaches: one familiar and one brand new. Jean-Christophe Faurel has been with Gauff on and off since her early teens. But it’s Matt Daly who’s been credited with the recent changes in her game. Daly joined her team just weeks after her disappointing US Open exit, where she double-faulted 19 times against Emma Navarro. But fast forward to now, and it seems like old habits are creeping back into Coco’s game. And experts are starting to talk about it.

Coco Gauff ended last year strong as she won the China Open and the WTA Finals. After teaming up with Daly, the 21-year-old’s serve looked more solid, and the results backed it up. At the 2025 Australian Open, she even served the most aces during her run. But she also made the most double faults.

Gauff made 35 double faults at the AO before falling in the quarterfinals. She faced Paula Badosa in the Round of 8 and did keep the double faults down to just six. But then came the forehand errors. She hit 28 of those, contributing to a total of 41 unforced errors. Her serve wasn’t helping either—she won only 56% of the points on it. The cracks were showing again.

And things didn’t get much better at the Indian Wells, where the American had a nightmare of a start. She served over 20 double faults in her opener against Moyuka Uchijima. Even Gauff knew it wasn’t good enough. She graded herself with a “D” after the match. Eventually, she was knocked out in the fourth round by Belinda Bencic.

In Miami, things didn’t turn around either. Gauff lost in the round of 16 to Magda Linette. She hit 12 double faults and once again struggled to find rhythm on her serve. All of this has sparked a lot of talk. Former WTA player Andrea Petkovic had something to say about it on her podcast, Becker Petkovic.

“This is my hot take,” said Petkovic. “I think what happened when she hired the new coach, Matt Daly, he changed her grip on the serve a bit. My theory is, when you change a grip, with time, if you don’t remember it all the time, it goes back to the old grip – If you’re not constantly being warned: ‘Hey, think about the new grip, think about the new grip.’ In the last two, three tournaments of last year and the first two tournaments of this year, she had hardly any double faults, one or two per match. Now in the match against Linette, twelve double faults.”

The former World No.9 further added, “In the match in Indian Wells, which she lost [to Bencic], eight doubles faults in three sets. Twenty-two in three sets in Indian Wells in the second round. She won the match in the end, but with 22 double faults. So, something is not right with the serve. My theory is that the grip has gone back to the old one, and therefore, it does not work at the moment.”

Petkovic isn’t the only one taking a closer look at Gauff’s serve. Former Australian pro Rennae Stubbs has also shared her concerns over Gauff’s serve.

Rennae Stubbs predicts Coco Gauff’s serve will trouble her “forever”

On the Rennae Stubbs podcast, dated 31st March 2024, Rennae Stubbs also gave her two cents while chatting with Petkovic. “Her grip is wrong,” Stubbs said firmly. “I think her elbow gets super low and sort of so close to her body. The left arm jumps down,” she added.

The 54-year-old didn’t stop there. She further remarked, “There are so many little technical things which are going to be a problem for her going forward forever. Because it doesn’t just go away. Billie Jean King always said bad technique breaks down under pressure.”

Now, with the clay season coming up, Gauff has a chance to reset. Her first stop will be the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, which begins on April 14, 2025. Maybe the slower surface will give her time to fix the cracks. But unless she sorts out her serve and plays with more consistency, the top spot in women’s tennis may stay out of reach. Will Coco Gauff find her groove again? What do you think?