Coco Gauff‘s Wimbledon run ended before it kicked off last week. A first round exit was something no one expected from the World No.2. Especially given the fact she clinched a slam just a month ago in Paris. The momentum was there, the inspiration to do better was there with the 21-year-old American. Still, she failed to overcome the grass challenge at the All England Club. Interestingly, she had a plan ready before entering the event to succeed on the green surface. “Grass has been trial and error for me. The biggest thing, I think, is just to be more aggressive.” Unfortunately, it did nothing to help her form. We’re left with unanswered questions as to why the 2025 French Open clay queen couldn’t move beyond the first round. But it seems like Andy Roddick has an answer.

Speaking during an episode of his Served podcast, the 2003 US Open winner mentioned how ATP pros like Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as icons before them, made key adjustments to achieve great results on grass. Compared to clay and hard court, it’s relatively faster, which sometimes makes it very tough for most players to adapt properly in terms of movement and speed. “You have those light movers who kind of glide, you know Pete (Sampras), Roger (Federer), Edberg, Carlos (Alcaraz) does it now. Novak (Djokovic) has figured it out where he has that kind of gentle speed that you need on grass to navigate around.” Shifting attention to Gauff’s struggles on grass at the Wimbledon, Roddick continued, “So I think as the playing surfaces have gotten crazy, I think when something becomes fast I think it exposes certain playing styles that much quicker. Because Coco’s never practiced fast courts in her entire life.”

Highlighting the WTA star’s inevitable weakness in the faster conditions when stepping on grass, Roddick explained, “They’ve just been in this mono surface for so long. Therefore, she has to change everything she’s ever learned for this three-week season and even for superhero Avengers like Coco Gauff, that’s hard.”

Well, Roddick’s point makes sense as well. It’s been evident from Gauff’s constant failure to shine at the All England Club. Back in 2019, she made her first appearance at SW19. At 15, she caught everyone’s attention after besting 7-time slam queen Venus Williams. Sadly, she couldn’t stretch her journey further. In the fourth round, Simona Halep defeated her. In 2021, too, the outcome remained unchanged after her loss to Germany’s Angelique Kerber.

In most recent editions, too, Gauff hasn’t left a lasting impression. The Wimbledon’s the only slam where she’s yet to make an entry in the QF stage, let alone reaching semis or the final. So what’s been the major issue behind her unfortunate journey at the grass major in 2025?

After Dayana Yastremska bested her with a score line of 7-6(3), 6-1, Coco Gauff was left in shock. Later, during the press conference, the two-time slam champion revealed her unfiltered thoughts. To her, it all came down to “serving better. I mean when I like can serve well in some games I did is definitely an added threat.” She further admitted, “I think I didn’t serve that well and yeah, I mean obviously I have to be able to counter that and also be as aggressive too as she is at times,” 

For the uninitiated, she committed nine double faults compared to Yastremska’s three. Not to mention the 29 unforced errors. While the Ukrainian hit 16 winners, the American was able to hit just six.

She also cited how making a transition from clay to grass became tough. “I think it’s just you know changing my playing style a little bit which is difficult cuz for me it’s like I approach Clay and I play this one way for however long Clay season is 6 to 8 weeks or I don’t know. And then I feel like when I go hard, I don’t have to change as much, but I still have to adjust it a little bit.”

The World No.2 would now like to forget this upset and move forward. There’s another slam she has to focus on – the US Open. Do you think the American can make a brilliant comeback at the Flushing Meadows? Let us know in the comments below.

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