Aryna Sabalenka has warmly welcomed Coco Gauff’s decision to hire her former coach, who is credited with reviving her game.
Leading up to the US Open, it has been confirmed that world No.3 Gauff is no longer working with Matt Daly, who was part of her team for almost a year. The decision comes during what has been a mixed past few weeks on the Tour for the American, who reached the fourth round of the Canadian Open and then the quarter-finals in Cincinnati. However, during both of those tournaments she struggled with her serve and hit a high number of doubles faults, including 23 in her opening match in Canada.
Seeking a resolution to her service issues, Gauff has enlisted the help of biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan. The person who helped Sabalenka overcome similar problems a couple of years ago.
“I wish them both the very best. Hopefully, everything can work out well for them,” Sabalenka told reporters at the US Open’s media day.
The reigning US Open champion admits she might have stepped away from the sport if she hadn’t turned to MacMillan for help.
“I’m really grateful for his help during tough times. He really helped me with the serve. I’d tried literally everything, and nothing helped. (Working with Gavin) was the last step before I said, ‘Okay, bye-bye, tennis.’ She said.
“I was so desperate, but the moment we started working, I felt like, okay, there’s something here. I definitely have a better feeling about my serve.
“For me, it was basically, like, a couple of weeks, and I was sort of fixed.”
Sabalenka will be secretly hoping that Gauff’s serve doesn’t massively improve in the coming days during the US Open, where she is seeking to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to successfully defend their title. Her most recent tournament was Cincinnati, where she reached the semi-finals before losing to Elena Rybakina.
“I would love to finish the season with a Grand Slam and world number one,” she said. “But if this goal is not to be, I’ll still think this season has been really amazing.
“All of those tough lessons that I learned this season are only going to make me stronger for the next one. I’ll work even harder in pre-season to make sure next year is going to be only a year of success, like true success.”
Sabalenka has a win-loss record of 28-6 at the US Open and has reached the semi-finals or better in her last four appearances. Her opening match will be against Rebeka Masarova on Sunday.
