Coco Gauff has rocked the tennis world, with news that, on the eve of the US Open, she has split with her coach.
On the surface, it is a decision that has raised eyebrows with its timing.
However, as people have delved into the details, many have started to warm to the move.
After all, the American has been really impressive all year despite obvious, debilitating issues with the forehand and particularly on the serve.
Coco Gauff’s continued ability to grind out wins just shows how well-rounded she is, technically, physically and mentally.
If she is to solve the outstanding problems in her game, it could be game over for the rest of the WTA.
Coco Gauff splits with coach on eve of the US Open
And, having clearly recognised that her serve was in dire need of a complete revamp, Gauff has gone out and hired the exact same person who once solved Aryna Sabalenka’s same issue two years ago.
At her worst, the Belarusian would crumble under the pressure of her failing serve, and as such, she lost match after match despite being the better player.
That was, until she brought in Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics expert who completely reconstructed that area of her game and has turned her into the near-unstoppable force she is today.
Gauff, seeing this progress, is clearly keen to follow in her footsteps. Darren Cahill has even given his thoughts on Gauff hiring MacMillan recently too, as a real voice of reason within this space.
However, there is one part of the move that is deservedly drawing scrutiny.
After all, it is a really smart decision made at a really strange time. Just days before the US Open begins.
The strange timing of Coco Gauff’s coaching decision
Having parted ways with Matt Daly, there is real confusion about who will lead Gauff into the US Open this year.
It will completely throw off her preparation, and a Grand Slam marks a very strange time to make such a monumental change.
Especially when the problem has been evident for so long now.
Even before the French Open, which she went on to win, there were outstanding issues with the serve and forehand that threatened to derail her chances of success.
In her Italian Open match against Qinwen Zheng, she hit 82 unforced errors and served 16 double faults. This would have been a perfect time to hire MacMillan.
Such a vast overhaul will not be a quick fix, and so it marks a strange short-term decision to effectively sacrifice the US Open for practice in order to improve her in the long term.
Surely she could have enjoyed one final Grand Slam with the consistency of her usual coaching setup, before making the changes needed afterwards.
It could be a move that instantly bears fruit, and this will all be rendered irrelevant. But, whilst many are praising her proactivity, it is a move she could and should have made months ago.
