Coco Gauff continues to have issues within her game which have been pointed out after her latest win at the Italian Open.
Gauff’s issues with her serve and forehand are well known, and continue to trouble her during matches this year.
This was also evident in her latest win against Solana Sierra, where Gauff was forced to come from a set down to beat the Argentinian.
However, there was also another issue within Gauff’s game that was on show and tennis fans have raised concerns that it could be even more of a problem than her serve and forehand.
Tennis fans call out Coco Gauff’s footwork after her latest win
Gauff is one of the fastest players on the WTA Tour, and has achieved a lot of her successes due to her incredible athleticism.
However, it was actually Gauff’s footwork that was criticised by tennis fans in a series of clips from her win over Sierra.
A tennis fan wrote to start the debate, “Just shockingly poor footwork for a player of her calibre. I’ll die on the hill that of all the problems in her game and that’s the biggest one. It’s hard to believe it hasn’t been fixed all these years.”
This then prompted other tennis fans to join the debate, claiming that Gauff’s footwork is actually a key contributor to her forehand issues.
One person said, “I always say that. She has really bad footwork. Her forehand problems are mainly because of that. She often hits on the back foot or falling to the side.”
Another added, “It’s hard to change the way you have been moving all your life…and judging from the fact she refuses to change her forehand (in my opinion easier to change), she will never change her footwork.”
An additional social media user said, “I’m not even sure she can hit a forehand with both feet on the ground. So many errors caused because of it…”
Do you still believe Coco Gauff can defend her French Open title?
Another shaky performance on the clay…
More tennis fans weighed into the debate, “Her footwork is so bad. Just look at it when she’s hitting her forehand. She is so off balance. That seriously needs to be worked on. How can a top player have such awful footwork?”
“Yeah her footwork is a big issue. The leg in the air, she’s almost always off balance on her forehand, no wonder she can’t get good racket head speed.”
In spite of these clear issues within her game, Gauff still continues to battle through matches and is within four matches of the Italian Open title.
Where will Coco Gauff be seeded at the French Open this year?
Gauff is the defending French Open champion, and she also reached the final of the Italian Open last year.
As a result of her success during the clay court season last year, Gauff faces a lot of ranking pressure in Rome.
Gauff is the current world number four, but is at risk of being overtaken by her compatriot Jessica Pegula.
This is significant for French Open seeding, as Gauff losing the world number four ranking means that she could play either Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals, rather than the semifinals.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of 2026?
Gauff knows that she needs to at least match Pegula’s result at the Italian Open this week to keep her spot as the world number four.
Both players are into the fourth round of the Italian Open, where Gauff will now play her teenage compatriot Iva Jovic for the first time, while Pegula faces in-form qualifier Anastasia Potapova.
