Coco Gauff’s giving flashbacks of Serena Williams! Interestingly, this time it’s not just with her on-court attire, but also through her incredible shot-taking skills at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The 20-year-old recently silenced the Wimbledon demons which showed her the exit door in the first round last year. It all happened with Gauff showcasing a dominant performance in her 6-1,6-2 victory against her compatriot Caroline Dolehide. Interesting changes to her game this year – wonder if it’s her coach Brad Gilbert’s influence?

Well, using the slices more often was surely very much noticeable in her last match. And Gauff admitted the same in her post-match interview. “I had to use the slice a little bit which I actually did pretty decent. It’s something I don’t like to practice, the slicing and all of that. But like my coach is right like I use it a lot on grass because you never know the balance.” She feels being aggressive on the grass is extremely crucial to one’s game. Gauff wants to be the first person to strike rather than wait for the chances offered by her opponents. Is this something that her coach, Gilbert pushed her for on this surface?

Replying to this question from a journalist, Gauff said, “Brad has really emphasized using the forehand like slice when it’s super low, which I did a couple of times today when she sliced.” For the backhand, the 20-year-old American tennis star said it’s kind of just her discretion and figure out sometimes. She said she just improvises it and it’s like having a plan or something on when to use or when not to use it.

Gauff’s forehand has been the talking point of the tennis world for quite some time now. It appears to most that she doesn’t trust that shot as much as she does with her backhands. This is one of her biggest vulnerabilities, which often costs her in big matches. Regarding the same, former world number 4, Mary Joe Fernandez once stated, “If she figures out how to manage and improve the forehand all of a sudden it becomes a weapon…a game changer.“

While Coco Gauff’s backswing is larger than the typical compact ATP style, similar to Serena Williams’ powerful forehand, her forehand seems to be less consistent. This has sparked discussion about why she might not be generating the same level of power as Serena despite a similar looking backswing. One key difference between Gauff and Serena is in the mid-backswing. Coco tilts the racket tip more forward towards the opponent, similar to Naomi Osaka’s powerful forehand. In contrast, Serena kept a straighter racket face throughout the backswing. While their final backswing positions might appear similar, this earlier tilt in Gauff’s swing suggests a different approach to generating power.

Joe Fernandez had even advised her to take six or eight months off to work on that shot. Even Pam Shriver and Rennae Stubbs believe this is an issue that Gauff needs to solve very quickly to rise further in her career. What does her coach Brad Gilbert have to say on this?

“Not everybody is like Rafa” – Coco Gauff’s coach speaks up on multiple pieces of advice he gets to solve his mentee’s persistent problem

During a conversation with Andy Roddick at his ‘Served’ podcast, Gilbert revealed he was bombarded with texts calling for him to “fix” Coco Gauff’s forehand. Recalling those moments, Gilbert said, “It’s too easy to say I want to win x, y, z. Everybody does, but there are parts of her game that she definitely needs to work with. I’ve never got so many texts in my life as I got once I started coaching her that instantly everything is about, ‘Fix your forehand. Fix your grip.” He said sometimes people think that it’s so easy to fix something like that when in reality it’s way tougher!

He further went on to ask them “What happens if you make a change and it doesn’t get better?” Changing the grip can completely change the arc of the swing. So he believes there are more factors to look at more trying to implement any new thing or make any changes to one’s own style of play. “Not everybody is like Rafa that can make changes all the time. Andre was another one that liked to tinker all the time, but not all players are like that,” he added. Share your thoughts on Coco Gauff’s performance in her last match.