Andy Roddick praises Coco Gauff's ranking climb despite serve struggles: "The rest of her game has become so much better"

Andy Roddick praised Coco Gauff after her rise in the rankings despite issues with her serve. The 2023 US Open champion went through an inconsistent streak after Wimbledon, with disappointing results in the Olympic Games and the US Open Series, which led to the departure of her coach Brad Gilbert.

The 20-year-old was defending a large number of points in the North American tournaments and lost almost half of them in just a few weeks (dropping from 9,000 to 5,000), which caused her to fall from world No. 2 to No. 6 in the rankings. Problems with her serve have been a constant issue— in her last two defeats alone, she accumulated a total of 40 double faults.

However, Gauff rediscovered her game during the Asian Swing. She won the China Open title, defeating Katie Boulter, Naomi Osaka, and Paula Badosa along the way, and comfortably overcame Karolina Muchova in the final (6-1, 6-3).

A week later, Gauff kept her good form with three consecutive wins up until the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka. Just before the end of the season, the American returned to form, though she still struggled with her serve, which contributed to her defeat against Sabalenka after 21 double faults.

"I want to give credit where credit's due because the loss at the US Open, the 11 or 12 double faults in the third set, the questions post-Brad Gilbert, dealing with a lot of things to create a bit of momentum, even with the second serve rearing its ugly head again against Sabalenka and almost winning that match," said 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick.

"These two things are rarely said, they can rarely be true: someone has full-blown yips on one shot, probably has yips adjacent where there is some work to be done on the forehand. I don't think anyone would say any different, and also she just went back up to No. 3 in the world having dealt with these things all year, which is crazy town.”

"I think the rest of her game has become so much better than it was a year ago that she will self-correct the [yips] at some point. I have full faith. I think she is committed to it, she is a hard worker,” the former world No. 1 added.

Gauff’s next challenge will be at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where she qualified in third place, just behind Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. The American will be defending points from reaching the semifinals last year.