Coco Gauff has found success at times despite her serve. She is capable of greatness, having won two Grand Slams, and she could challenge for the top ranking on the WTA tour if only she could figure out the issues with her serve. In 2025, for instance, she led the tour in double faults by a wide margin.
She had 431, and second-worst was Ekaterina Alexandrova with 300. The difference between Gauff and Alexandrova (131) was the same as Alexandrova and the 35th-worst (Hailey Baptiste). Imagine how many titles Gauff could win if she were just better in one specific aspect of her game.
She knows it, too. In the past few months, she has worked with biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan in hopes that her serve problems will diminish, if not fully go away. So far this season (Gauff has played at the United Cup), she does appear to be a tick better, but that has happened before, too.
Pat Cash offers his opinion on fixing Coco Gauff's serve
The American's problems seem to be more mental than physical. She knows she can land a solid first and second serve, but her double faults often come in stretches. This implies she begins thinking of the problem instead of just playing. Perhaps, if she had hired a coach who had played tennis for decades, she would have had a quicker fix.
Pat Cash certainly thinks so. Cash has become a valued voice commenting on tennis, and he was a very good player. He reached No. 4 on the ATP, was a three-time Grand Slam finalist, including winning Wimbledon in 1987. According to Tennis365, Coco Gauff's serve issues could have been fixed in "five minutes" by a former player.
Cash said, "Gauff’s serve could have been a five-minute fixing job, but she has taken her years to sort it out. I worked alongside Gavin MacMillan as we found a solution to Brandon Nakashima’s serve, and now he has gone on to become this serving guru."
In other words, had Gauff hired MacMillan and Cash, she might not have had to spend months still working things out. There is still time, of course. Coco Gauff is sticking with MacMillan, but maybe she could add Pat Cash, too. If it fixes her serve issues, she might challenge for every Grand Slam title in 2026.