Coco Gauff Battles Through Serve Struggles to Reach US Open Fourth Round
NEW YORK – Coco Gauff advanced to the fourth round of the US Open today, โbutโฃ her โpath to victory has been marked by a highly visible and emotionally taxing struggle with her serve.โ The โค20-year-old American, a leading contender for the title, has openly grappled with a technical issue that has manifested in a โขsurge of double faults and visible distress on court, culminating inโข tears after her second-round match against Donna Vekiฤ.
Gauff initially attributed the problemโฃ to a “biomechanical thing” she hadโค “wrong,” dismissingโค suggestions โขof a mentalโข block. โค”It’s not โa mental thing,” she statedโฃ in a press conference. “It’sโ a biomechanical thing that I hadโ wrong, and I’m just โขtrying my โขbest to get it right.” she explained to The โAthletic that the issueโข wouldn’t simply disappear.
The struggle was evident against โVekiฤ, where Gauff committed seven double faultsโฃ in the first set โฃand was seen crying and with visibly shaking hands during changeovers. Despite the difficulties, she managed to secure a โ7-6, 6-2 victory, expressing relief and gratitude to the โคcrowd afterward, though admitting it was “the worst I’veโ ever felt on the court.”
The pressure surrounding โGauff’s serve isโฃ unique, as it’s aโค fundamental action with no โขroom for evasion. The match against โVekiฤ wasโฃ further intricate by theโ opponent’s own arm injury, addingโค to the tense atmosphereโ in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Gauff found inspiration from an unexpectedโข source: Simone Biles, the โdecorated gymnast, who was in attendance. Gauff reflected on Biles’s performance onโ the balance โbeam, reasoning that if Biles could execute her routines on a four-inch beam, she โcould โmanage to land a โขserve in the expansive tennis court.Though, the connection to Biles โalso prompted reflectionโฃ on Biles’s own experience with disorientation under pressure at the โTokyo Olympics, highlighting the interplay between physical execution and mental state.
In her third-round match against Magdalena Frฤch, Gauff showed signs of improvement, hitting herโค first toss and serving without being broken in her โopening game. โShe ultimately won 6-3,6-1,with a more controlled fourโข double faults and a return to her typical first serve speed. The turnaround, she demonstrated, was a testament to her enduringโ fight โand resilience.
