Serena's ex-coach sees Gauff replacing Swiatek at helm of women's tennis

Ex-coach of the former world number one Serena Williams, Rick Macci, has backed America’s Coco Gauff to become the leader in women’s tennis in 2025. The 20-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently in women’s tennis in the singles category, along with the likes of Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka and Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

Macci, who was the childhood coach of the legendary tennis star Serena, in a post on his official account on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — has backed Gauff to become the leader in women’s tennis, replacing Swiatek in 2025.

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“Mentally day in and day nothing beats Proven and IGA is the leader in the WTA clubhouse in that area. But 2025 will see a shift as others have improved mentally and they Believe and when you Believe you will Achieve. @CocoGauff," he wrote.

That comment is an interesting one, as Swiatek is currently not the world's number one. In fact, she finished the year as the world number two, more than 1100 rating points behind Sabalenka. She lost the top spot to the reigning world number one after deciding to stay out of tennis for a long period of time after the US Open. On the other hand, Gauff had an impressive season and finished it on a high in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she lifted the title after beating China’s Qinwen Zheng in the final with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.

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Just two months before that, Gauff lifted the China Open in Beijing as well where she defeated Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-3. Interestingly, before that, Gauff’s only title came way back in January, when she won the ASB Classic in Auckland after beating Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the final with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. Between January and September, Gauff faltered at the semifinal stage on four occasions.