Coco Gauff hoping big gamble pays off beyond just U.S. Open

Coco Gauff is playing the long game when it comes to perfection.

Firing her coach on the eve of the U.S. Open was a huge gamble for Gauff. But apparently not as risky as settling for the status quo, and her old broken serve.

“I’m looking at long-term. I hope I can get it all together — I’ll play either Monday or Tuesday — by then. If not, I have the rest of this year to work on it,” Gauff said Friday. “But I do know I needed to make a change — technical change — to it, and I don’t want to waste time continuing doing the wrong things.”

Gauff triumphed two years ago in Flushing as a teen phenom.

But last summer’s title defense was undone by 19 double-faults in a fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro, and coach Brad Gilbert was replaced by Matthew Daly.

But now — after this season’s WTA-worst 320 double-faults are more than 100 more than anybody else — Gauff has fired Daly and hired Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics expert who rebuilt Aryna Sabalenka’s serve in 2022. The next year, the Belarusian won her first Grand Slam, and followed with two more.

“I tried literally everything, and nothing would help me to fix my serve. It was the last step before I’d say, ‘OK, bye-bye, tennis.’ I was so desperate, so I wasn’t really doubting my decision,” said Sabalenka, adding, “But everyone is different, and I wish them both the very best and hopefully everything can work out well for them.”

Gauff will continue with longtime coach Jean-Christophe Faurel, as well as MacMillan.

Third-ranked Gauff is 35-12 with a French Open crown this year. But for her, working out means winning more Slams — even if it requires a step back in Flushing before taking several leaps forward later.

“I can be, ‘OK, I’m doing fine and continuing playing the way that I’m playing.’ But I know where I want to see my game in the future. I’m not going to waste time playing the way I don’t want to play,” said Gauff. “When I won U.S. Open, I’ve been very vocal I wasn’t really happy with how I played the whole tournament, and that was a great result for me.

“For me, I just want to get better. I’m obsessed with the process of getting better. Sometimes, maybe it hurts because I get obsessed with it too much. … I have a clear future where I see myself and I feel like I’m really close. I think this aspect of the game will bring everything together for me.”

Gauff played an exhibition with Andre Agassi during U.S. Open fan week, and Rick Macci — who coached Andy Roddick and both Williams sisters — can already see the improvement in her serve.

“Yeah, it was a very sudden decision,” Gauff said. “Gavin became available, and I just felt this is the best decision for my game, at least, and had to go with what I was feeling.”