"She will be really tough to beat": Mats Wilander and Tim Henman advise Coco Gauff to return to Andy Roddick for serve advice

Coco Gauff has been told by Mats Wilander and Tim Henman to potentially return to Andy Roddick for continued serve advice after her loss at the Australian Open highlighted serve problems.

Gauff in the rematch of the 2023 US Open final lost out to Aryna Sabalenka in a 7-6, 6-4 win for the Belarusian who will now face Qinwen Zheng in the final of the 2024 Australian Open. Gauff produced a poor serving display with eight double faults, 57% on her first serves with 65% of those points won. On her second serve, it was even worse with 39% of her points completed. Pre-tournament she went to Andy Roddick and Wilander believes that is the next course of action.

“I just adjusted the way that I tossed the ball up a little bit, which allowed my toss to be more consistent,” she said. “Then I just felt that the more consistent my serve is, the more I’m ok with going for it in those big moments. I still know I can improve on it, but I’m really happy with the progress that I’ve made in the short amount of time.”

“[I’d advise Coco to] spend more time with Andy Roddick to get her serve in shape," said Wilanderon Eurosport. "We know she’s serving harder and the first serve is better, even though her percentage was 50%, which is not enough.
She needs to get her right elbow up a bit; she seems to fall down a bit too much. Toss straighter up. That’s what Andy Roddick was famous for. That’s going to solve so many problems when she has a consistent second serve.
"It’s going to make her first serve better and it’ll make her feel like she doesn’t have to go for aces all the time either.”

This is a point that Tim Henman also agreed with saying she will be tough to beat if she implements changes.

“I think Gauff served eight double faults but for me, the lack of direction of second serve from Coco Gauff and Sabalenka was able to return so aggressively,” he said.
"She served into the middle of the box to give herself margin for error and she only won 39% of second serve points. You feel threatened on your second serve all the time and your opponent can really dictate. There was a lot of focus on her erratic forehand but now she needs to look at her second serve. If she addresses it, she will be really tough to beat.”