Serena Williams' ex-coach Rick Macci makes bold claim about Coco Gauff's serving woes: "Can be fixed in less than 1 hour"
Coco Gauff has struggled with her serve throughout the 2024 season, with these issues often surfacing in crucial matches. However, Serena Williams' childhood coach Rick Macci has made the bold claim that the 20-year-old's serving woes barely require an hour to be fixed.
The extent of Gauff's serving issues was on display during her shock fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro at the 2024 US Open, as she struck 19 double faults in an error-riddled performance.
Despite the mounting concerns over the amount of Coco Gauff's double faults, Rick Macci had emphasized that while World No. 4's serve was "biomechanically disconnected," the problem could be corrected with a minor adjustment.
"Asked about Coco and her serve. Biomechanically it is disconnected. 19 double faults and be in there shows her greatness. It needs minor reconstruction surgery based on scientific principles as it is an easy fix. People are telling her the Symptom not the Culprit. @Cocogauff," Macci posted on X.
The 20-year-old parted ways with her coach Brad Gilbert after her US Open exit and teamed up with Matt Daly, going on to triumph at the China Open. However, the American's serving woes resurfaced during her semifinal loss to Aryna Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open, as evidenced by her 21 double faults.
However, Rick Macci has reiterated his belief that Coco Gauff's second serve can be easily fixed in less than an hour, suggesting that once her serve was "biomechanically rewired," her mental game would also become bolder.
"Coco and her second serve can be fixed in less than 1 hour. Once that is biomechanically rewired and that is in the EYE of the BEHOLDER the mental game overall becomes BOLDER. @CocoGauff," Macci posted.
Gauff might consider seeking out Macci's expertise to fix the flaws in her serve, especially since her father Corey had once been in talks to form a partnership with Serena Williams' childhood coach.
"I'm not worried because I found the solution" - Coco Gauff on her disastrous serving display in Wuhan Open loss
Coco Gauff herself disclosed that she wasn't worried about her serving troubles because she and her coaching team were working on "new things" and had found the solution to address the issue.
Speaking to the press after her Wuhan Open exit, the 20-year-old asserted that the problems with her serve were just "growing pains" as she adjusted to a new technique, having only had a week to implement it.
"Yeah, honestly, for me I'm not worried because I found the solution. I didn't really have time to work on it. Yeah, I'm really happy with how the last couple weeks went. I'm just trying to be positive from there."
"New things. Yeah, working on a new thing. It's expected. I only had really a week to learn it, then I went to Beijing. I knew it wasn't going to be great. I'm honestly surprised at how well I was able to do with it. We weren't expecting it. So yeah, I mean, overall it's growing pains, ups and downs."
Coco Gauff will be back in action for her final tournament of the season at the 2024 WTA Finals, scheduled to commence on November 2. Alongside the American, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula have also confirmed their spots at the year-end championships.