Coco Gauff fires back at serving coach in WTA Dubai loss

Despite being the reigning French Open champion, 21-year-old Coco Gauff is struggling. Her serve has been an issue for nearly a year.

Gauff made a coaching overhaul days before last year’s US Open in an effort to fix her double-fault problem.

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She hired the acclaimed serve fixer, Gavin MacMillan. He helped World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka overcome her serving yips a few years ago.

Jan 27, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Coco Gauff of United States in action against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images

Since then, the serve has been inconsistent. Gauff’s talent and athleticism have helped her overcome the double faults against lower-ranked players.

On Friday, in a marathon match against Elina Svitolina, Gauff lost the match and her cool, weeks after smashing her racquet following her Australian Open loss.

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What A Frustrated Coco Gauff Yelled To Her Coach

Fans noticed that Gauff was hitting her head with her racquet. That unusual move was accompanied by a one-sided conversation, presumably with MacMillan, where Gauff said she was doing what he told her to do for the last six months.

Coco Gauff after hitting a double fault against Elina Svitolina in Dubai

“I’ve been doing everything you’ve wanted for the last 6 months…”

This is presumably to her biomechanics expert, Gavin MacMillan, who she hired before the US Open last season to help with her serve. pic.twitter.com/eobBoCyHDP

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 20, 2026

Coco Gauff after that double fault you can see how much it meant to her. Tough moment 🥺pic.twitter.com/gW7LdezZyg

— Trend_X_Now (@TrendxNow) February 20, 2026

Gauff wants to get the serve right, and she will want to do it quickly. She is a fan favorite during March’s US Sunshine Double at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. With serving concerns still on the horizon, will she make a coaching change before the Sunshine Double?

In addition to being hyper-focused on her serve, Gauff has played less doubles. She is a great doubles player and the 2024 French Open doubles champion (with Katerina Siniakova). Some believe she should play doubles to reduce her stress and work out the serving kinks.

MacMillan’s help transformed Aryna Sabalenka’s serve. She was in a similar situation with frequent double faults. Her serve has become one of the dominant features of her game and the reason she has stayed at World No. 1 for several years.

Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina also has a superior serve. Women’s tennis is now ruled by tall players with big serves, and it is up to Gauff and the others to catch up.