Follow us on Google Discover Coco Gauff might still have something holding her back, despite winning her third WTA 1000 title just last week.
Gauff beat Jessica Pegula to win the Wuhan Open, bouncing straight back to form after her heavy defeat to Amanda Anisimova in Beijing.
The American did not even drop a set on this run, with Gauff continuing her impressive final record.
Although Gauff has reiterated herself as a threat on the WTA Tour, former doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs thinks there may still be something that is holding her back.
Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty ImagesRennae Stubbs raises her concern about Coco Gauff at Grand Slam tournaments
Gauff’s serve is often a big topic of conversation, and it still was far from perfect at the Wuhan Open, where she hit 27 unforced errors in her five matches.
After watching her lose in the semifinals of the China Open, Stubbs had questions for Gauff and she still does not seem convinced by the two-time Grand Slam champion’s recent performances.
When speaking on her podcast, Stubbs spoke about the vulnerabilities in Gauff’s game and the stress it puts her under, suggesting that it could break down in the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments.
“The thing about winning ugly is that it’s so stressful,” said Stubbs. “At some point, how much is she going to be able to take of, ‘I can’t get a serve in the court. I can’t hit my forehand! It’s not like I’m a bit nervous today’.
“Jess Pegula’s biggest issue is that her racket doesn’t feel great, or she can’t feel the ball, but she’s never like I know I can’t hit a serve.
“I would hate to walk out on the court and know that there were two weaknesses that were so glaring everyone knew about and as soon as I miss one or two of them be like ‘everyone knows I can’t hit my forehand in the court’.
“How many players in the top 10 are going I hope I can hit that shot in the court today? That is Coco. There were times she was double faulting again. That was in the semis and in the final. But she just keeps going. She is built different.
“I give her tons of credit. I love her. I don’t know if it’s the right thing because at some point again, in a big match at the majors, is it going to hurt her though? That she hasn’t worked on those things enough.”
Why is Coco Gauff still able to win with such a high number of double faults?
Concerns over Gauff’s serve are justified, as she has hit the most double faults on the WTA Tour in 2025 by far.
The closest player to Gauff in this statistic is Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has still hit 125 fewer double faults than Gauff this year.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
While Gauff may be the weakest in this serving statistic compared to her rivals, where she really excels is on her serve.
In terms of the percentage of points won on return in 2025, Gauff is leading on the WTA Tour of all players who have played more than 20 matches, and most importantly is ahead of the other players ranked inside the top five.
Top five in the WTA RankingsDouble faults in 2025% Return Points Won in 20251. Aryna Sabalenka154 (1st)45.9% (3rd)2. Iga Swiatek226 (3rd)47.9% (2nd)3. Coco Gauff405 (5th)49.1% (1st)4. Amanda Anismova247 (4th)45.6% (4th)5. Jessica Pegula161 (2nd)45.2% (5th)
Gauff finished the season last year in some fashion, winning both the China Open and the WTA Finals.
After lifting the Wuhan Open title for the first time, Gauff will be hoping that her serving and forehand issues do not return again and she can retain her WTA Finals crown.