Follow us on Google Discover Coco Gauff has been given a lot of advice since her concerning result against Amanda Anisimova at the China Open.
Gauff was thrashed by Anisimova in Beijing, failing to win more than three games in a 58-minute defeat at the China Open.
As a result of failing to defend her title at the China Open, eventual champion Anisimova has closed the gap on Gauff in the WTA rankings.
One of Serena Williams’ former coaches has given Gauff advice, and now another in Rennae Stubbs has reacted to her defeat.
Photo by Fred Lee/Getty ImagesRennae Stubbs reacts to Coco Gauff’s defeat to Amanda Anisimova
Gauff’s serve is often a big talking point, and something that former world number one Stubbs has focussed on in recent months.
Despite only holding serve twice against Anisimova, Gauff has actually spoken positively about her serve ahead of the Wuhan Open.
However, Stubbs has suggested that Gauff should not be playing the Wuhan Open at all and instead should have skipped the whole Asian swing altogether, questioning if this is good for her confidence going forward.
“The thing that I have said about Coco is how much can you take emotionally?” Stubbs said on her podcast. “So she scrapes through the matches in China and was not winning them easily, battling in three sets and then gets crushed by Anisimova. But that type of a player is going to crush your weaknesses.
“They are going to crush your forehand and they’re going to put you under a lot of pressure. Amanda is so confident right now that she looks at playing Coco as an opportunity because she gets the balls to hit that she wants.
“She is not being pressed by someone like [Aryna] Sabalenka, who is hitting the ball back as hard as her as she was at the US Open and then she is on the back foot and she is having to then defend. She is not really defending against Coco, unless Coco is serving unbelievably and crushing backhands.
“It’s not like Coco can just say I am going to hit my forehand harder and flatter today. That is not going to happen with the technique. On clay that grip and technique I wouldn’t say is great, but it’s optimised for clay. If she plays her on clay, that is a match I want to see, because you are going to have someone belting the ball.
“But on hard court you are going to struggle against players who hit it that flat and hard, so at some point it has to start taking a mental toll on you. That’s why I was like just shut it down. Go and practice somewhere where nobody is paying attention and work on those technique flaws.”
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Gauff has openly admitted she is seeing these tournaments as a practice, something she reiterated once again in her press conference ahead of the Wuhan Open.
“Obviously I think last week went well, but I feel like this part of the year, historically, I’ve always looked at it like that,” said Gauff. “I had good results last year and remember saying the same thing, and then I won Beijing and then WTA Finals.
“So yeah, I’m going to try to just keep that same mindset and prepare and get better for next year. But obviously, I’m a competitor, so I’m still wanting to win. I’ve never wanted to lose a match, so I’m going out there giving it my best, but just try not to put that pressure on while I’m on the court.”
Photo by WUHAN OPEN OFFICIAL 2025/VCG via Getty Images
The Wuhan Open is one of Gauff’s only two more tournaments this year, which she will end at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Gauff has a potentially tricky draw at the Wuhan Open, which she will begin against Japanese player Moyuka Uchijima.