Coco Gauff has returned to winning ways, capturing her second WTA Tour title of the season at the Wuhan Open.
After winning the French Open in June, Gauff struggled through a period of underwhelming form, to which her acute serving issues contributed.
Since hiring Gavin MacMillan ahead of the US Open, Gauff has seen an uptick in positive results, particularly during the Asian swing.
Gauff reached the China Open semi-finals, before claiming her ninth hard-court WTA Tour title at the Wuhan Open.
While MacMillan’s influence has certainly aided Gauff’s return to form, there may be another reason for her recent success.
Coco Gauff’s shift in focus has aided her Asian swing success
After losing to Naomi Osaka in the US Open fourth round, Gauff discussed her plans for the rest of 2025.
She described herself as having a ‘different mindset,’ one that did not care about the results she collected between the 2025 US Open and 2026 Australian Open.
Gauff described the period as ‘improvement mode.’
The American’s attitude towards this period in the calendar has clearly been a key contributor to her success during the Asian swing.
Gauff’s focus on improvement over results has reduced the pressure on her shoulders and allowed the American to adopt a more relaxed approach heading into matches.
This has translated into an excellent run of results in China.
There is also the matter of external pressure: the spotlight shines on Gauff brighter than any other player on the WTA Tour.
However, the glare of this spotlight has been somewhat reduced following the conclusion of the North American hard-court swing: a period in the calendar during which Gauff deals with the pressure of playing in front of her own fans, as well as the weight of sponsor and media requirements.
What did Gauff say after the US Open?
Following her loss to Osaka in New York, Gauff described her plans for the rest of 2025.
Gauff said: “I have no choice but to do a training block between now and Beijing, just the next tournament I’m signed up for. I’ve said this every year. After the US Open, for me, it’s just improvement mode to get ready for Australia.
“I had good results last year after US Open, and I think that’s just because I didn’t — I don’t want to say didn’t care, because those tournaments obviously deserve effort, but I don’t know. It’s just your mindset is different once the slams are over.
“Yeah, whatever happens for the rest of the year, I just want it to be improvement. I don’t care results-wise.
“Yeah, last year if you told me I would go win in Beijing and WTA Finals, I would have been, like, whatever, because I didn’t really care going into it.”
