A slam victory sometimes isn’t enough after all. This holds true in the curious case of American star and 21-year-old sensation Coco Gauff. After that historic triumph against Aryna Sabalenka in Paris four months back, the World No.3’s journey has gone downhill this season. The same way it was before the French Open glory. Is it the double fault situation, owing to her struggles with the serve motion? A former Australian tennis icon has tried to shed light on Gauff’s ongoing setbacks ahead of a crucial challenge at the WTA Finals.

During an episode of the Tennis podcast, dated October 9, ex-pro Nicole Pratt discussed various players’ chances on who can shine at the WTA Finals in Riyadh next month. While she was comfortable taking the names of Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, and Amanda Anisimova, Pratt’s stance on Gauff was concerning. “(Coco) Gauff is interesting one. She is, I mean, I saw her in Beijing, she actually hit with Storm Hunter there in a session. And like, it’s there but it’s not there.” According to her, “There is something underlying, you know, eating away at her confidence.”

Bringing up the situation regarding Gauff’s double fault woes, briefly, she added, “We have spoken about the serve a lot. But even beyond that, there is just something not quite right.” However, she also noted that, “she is still young and she can figure it out.” To have her serve problem fixed, the American star even hired Aryna Sabalenka’s former biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan in August ahead of the US Open. However, the improvement is still not apparent.

Gauff’s double fault count is still alarming. For example, in New York, she committed 27 double faults due to her inaccurate serves in four matches before her exit after losing to Naomi Osaka in the R16.

Then at the China Open, last week, she ended up accumulating 31 double faults in five matches before her forgettable match against compatriot Anisimova. The latter dismantled her in just 58 minutes while crashing Gauff’s hopes of winning a second-straight trophy in Beijing. However, there is some good news for the two-time slam queen’s fans. This week in Wuhan, she appears to have found her lost spirits.

Coco Gauff looks to regain winning momentum in Wuhan ahead of the WTA Finals

At the Wuhan Open, Coco Gauff has finally come back to her winning ways. The former world No.2 has made it to the semifinal stage of the WTA 1000 tournament. With that, she has replicated her campaign from last season. On her debut in Wuhan, in 2024, she reached the last four before losing eventually to Aryna Sabalenka.

This time, Gauff looks to do one better and eventually clinch the trophy in Wuhan. Doing so will also provide her with a huge morale boost. Especially ahead of the campaign in Riyadh next month. After all, she will step onto the court as the defending champion. For the uninitiated, Gauff won the 2024 WTA Finals title after besting Qinwen Zheng in the summit clash last November.

Her ongoing journey in Wuhan brings her face to face with Italian rival Jasmine Paolini in the semis. However, it won’t be a cakewalk at all. Paolini has dominated her twice this season in back-to-back clashes. In May, she beat her in the final of the Italian Open in Rome. Then in August, during the Cincinnati Open, Paolini once again outperformed Gauff in the QF round. She currently leads the H2H tally 3-2.

It will be intriguing to see whether Gauff can take her revenge. Or will Paolini complete a hat-trick of wins against the two-time major winner this season? Only time will tell.