Coco Gauff’s first match following her French Open title did not go as planned, having lost to the eventual finalist Wang Xinyu at the Berlin Open.
Her first match on grass of the season, her 6-3, 6-3 defeat underlined some of the big issues she might face on this surface across the next few weeks.
That being said, one could very easily attribute such a shock defeat to weariness after such a whirlwind month in which she doubled her Grand Slam tally.
Whether it be her form, fitness or fatigue, there are some glaring issues that remain within Coco Gauff’s game that could cause her big issues, especially at Wimbledon.
Chief among them is her serve.
Coco Gauff must fix her serve before Wimbledon
Heading into Roland Garros, there were worries about how the 21-year-old would adapt after impressing in Madrid and Rome but losing both finals.
The common denominator throughout those two Masters 1000 campaigns was her struggling serve and misfiring forehand, both of which saw countless errors fly off her racket.
Coco Gauff’s serve stats vs other top 5 opponents
| Coco Gauff | Aryna Sabalenka | Jessica Pegula | Iga Swiatek | Jasmine Paolini | |
| First serve % | 61.5 | 63.3 | 62.3 | 62.5 | 68.4 |
| First serve won % | 70 | 67.4 | 66.6 | 66.8 | 61 |
| Second serve won % | 43 | 51.1 | 51.5 | 49.5 | 49.1 |
| Service points won % | 59.6 | 61.4 | 60.9 | 60.3 | 57.2 |
| Service games won % | 70.3 | 76.5 | 73.9 | 74.8 | 67.5 |
Fortunately, she managed to limit them heading into Paris, with the final in particular seeing Gauff adapt to the conditions far better than Aryna Sabalenka. This led Rafa Nadal to congratulate Gauff after winning the French Open title.
However, across the course of 2025, comparing the American’s serving figures to her top-ten competitors does not make for good reading.
Gauff has averaged a 61.5% success rate with getting her first serve in play, which is an admirable if unspectacular figure. The real issue comes when that other 39.5% comes into play, as she then wins just 43% of points on her second serve.
For reference, Sabalenka makes 63.3% of her first serves and wins 51.1% of points behind her second serve. Paolini, despite being just 5 foot 3, makes 61% of her first serve and wins a further 49.1% behind her second serve.
Even Mirra Andreeva, who is three years her junior, wins 48.9% behind her second serve.
It’s a glaring issue that almost all of her competitors boast an upgrade on, and that could prove costly, especially on grass.
How has Coco Gauff performed at Wimbledon in the past?
This is worth outlining because, historically, grass has not been kind to Gauff.
Her best-ever performance has seen her reach the fourth round, both when she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old in 2019, and last year.
However, she has made the semi-finals or better at every other Grand Slam.
2023 was a particularly poor showing, where she was beaten in the very first round by compatriot Sofia Kenin.
Also, with this early Berlin exit, Gauff is still yet to win a WTA event on grass, further emphasising her struggles on this surface.
Serving is a crucial element of any player’s success, but on grass, its importance is magnified significantly. The world number two certainly needs to find a way to get a little bit more behind her second serve whilst adding greater danger to her first before Wimbledon starts, or else potentially suffer another shock early exit.
