Gauff boasts about her new serve: "I always knew I was capable of having a good serve"

Coco Gauff arrives at the US Open with the title from Cincinnati under her arm and a level of confidence in her serve never seen before in her early career. It is well known that serving has always been her Achilles' heel, but since she brought on Gavin MacMillan last year, an expert in biomechanics who has helped her change not just her technique but also her mindset.

The 22-year-old confirmed this during her Media Day at the US Open, where the entire press conference revolved around her serve. Gauff spoke about the calm she feels nowadays when serving, while also highlighting Gavin Macmillan's contribution.

Gauff admits to having high expectations at the US Open

"I guess yes, due to my experience, although probably not because of my age. But I think the expectations are high. At the US Open, you can feel more pressure than anywhere else. Being American, you want to succeed and do well."

"I've just realized that looking back, yes, I will probably be playing here for over ten years, but in the grand scheme of life, you don’t have many opportunities to play here. I try to enjoy every moment I’m here. Obviously, nothing is guaranteed, whereas before I was so focused on winning that the experience wasn’t as enjoyable for me. Sometimes I would win a match here and feel more relief than pride."

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Gauff recalls the key decision she made by bringing Macmillan onto her team before the US Open 2025

"I made an important change before probably the most important tournament of my season, and there was a lot of pressure. But I'm very happy I made that decision. I’m glad I didn’t wait even a second longer, because the progress is there, and I see it. In the moment, you don’t always notice it. Even earlier this year, I didn’t really feel it. But now I can look back a year later."

"I think someone made a graph comparing my serve statistics in Cincinnati last year with those of this year, and I thought: 'Wow, there is a huge difference.' It feels good to come into a tournament finally confident with that shot. Because I always knew I could serve well. I can hit good volleys and generate a lot of speed with the serve, but it was just about making it consistent. I think once I gained confidence in that consistency, I was able to take risks much more often."

A change in Gauff's serve that was also psychological

"Last year I knew all eyes were going to be on the serve. Gavin is really good at what he does and I felt a lot of pressure, even pressure that I put on myself to show that he was good at his job. It didn’t really show during the first weeks, which is normal."

Coco Gauff after beating Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati final

“Where is she? Oh right here. 😂 first I wanna congratulate Jess. You’re an incredible player. That goes without saying. Playing you is always tough. Today, all the balls were going in on my side 😂. But I don’t… pic.twitter.com/i08xr4u0X5

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 24, 2026

"But psychologically now it’s like: 'I’m going for the ace', or 'I know I can serve and probably the return won’t come back.' Last year I literally thought: 'I hope it goes in.' You can laugh because it's funny, but it's a huge difference to know that, obviously, if I want to, I can lower the speed, but on almost every serve, I try to hit 110, 115, or 120 miles per hour if I can. Sometimes, if I see the percentage dropping, I reduce the speed. I think that’s much better than where I was last year, when I just thought: 'Let it go in and we'll see'."

Gauff can finally take pride in her statistics

"I feel that my return statistics are quite high on the tour. Now that I'm returning well and serving well, everything feels much easier. You just have so much more calm when the shot goes in. Before, I didn’t even need it to be excellent. I just needed it to go in. Now it’s good and it goes in."

Gauff emphasized the importance of knowing how to lose and education after a defeat

"It's important for me. I'm not a fan of tense handshakes or things like that. If there's ever an awkward greeting, it’s not because I started it. I am always a person that, unless someone does something truly disrespectful, something that has never happened to me, then maybe it could happen. But it has never happened to me on or off the court."

"It’s important to teach young children to accept defeat gracefully because it’s something that will happen. Even if you're not an athlete, you will experience failure at some point in your life. You have to know how to face it with your head held high, acknowledge the other person’s merit, and try again next time," concluded Coco Gauff, who will try to fight for her second US Open with her new serve.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Gauff saca pecho de su nuevo saque: "Siempre supe que era capaz de tener un buen servicio"