Coco Gauff has had a strange buildup to the US Open. Earlier, she enrolled herself to play in the US Open Mixed Doubles tournament, which had a revamped format to accommodate more singles players. However, just days before that event, Gauff pulled out, citing hectic scheduling. To make matters worse, the American sensation also bowed out early at the Cincinnati Open, losing against Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals. At a time when it looked as if Gauff’s preparations for the US Open may be hampered, the reigning French Open champion is going the extra mile to shun that concern despite worsening conditions in New York.

All of a sudden, the climate has worsened at the US Open. A huge gust of wind along with heavy rainfall was reported at Flushing Meadows, bringing play to a standstill. However, Gauff braved the extreme conditions and stepped out in heavy rainfall to practice.

She was seen in an intense discussion with her coaches, working on her service game, which has been a major concern for her downfall of late. The coaching team worked on correcting Gauff’s service technique, which would turn out to be a major factor in her US Open campaign.

During the course of her matches, Coco Gauff can be seen committing several double faults, which have proved to be costly for her. During her Cincinnati Open loss to Paolini, Gauff committed as many as 16 double faults, succumbing to a three-set defeat. During an interview once, even Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, questioned Gauff’s serving technique, saying, “Her technique fails under pressure and when you’re playing outside—a lot of her success last year and even at the beginning of this year was played indoors – there’s no wind or variables. When you have a technique that is questionable at times, whether it be the second serve and the service motion, and the service grip, all that sort of stuff and the forehand, it affects your game more.”

Meanwhile, Gauff has made a big decision ahead of the US Open in this regard. This move could affect her chances at the US Open, which comes up in a few days.

Coco Gauff makes a shocking coaching decision

With Gauff continuing to struggle with her serves, she decided to part ways with her ex-coach, Matt Daly. This comes despite the fact that the two worked together during her victorious French Open campaign this year. Instead, Gauff replaced him with biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, who has already received the attention of legendary coach Darren Cahill.

Cahill said, “A lot of things add up, and this could be a really good relationship. He’s very thorough. I’ve spoken to him many, many times before. The fact that he’s got experience with different athletes from different sports, both male and female, he uses the new technology. He goes to the video a lot, really breaks down the biomechanics.”

Interestingly, MacMillan has already worked with Aryna Sabalenka, helping her improve her service game. He could have an instrumental effect on Gauff’s game and she would be a hot favorite going into the US Open with MacMillan in her team.