Former No. 1 Henin on Coco’s Catastrophe

By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/ROLEX

NEW YORK—Coco Gauff’s identity crisis goes deeper than her serve, says a former world No. 1.

Days before the US Open began, Gauff hired biomechanical coach Gavin MacMillan, who helped reconstruct Aryna Sabalenka’s serve, in an effort to fix her wayward serve.

Former world No. 1 Justine Henin said so much focus has been on Gauff’s revised service motion, many are missing an even more glaring vulnerability: the reigning Roland Garros champion’s western-grip forehand.

Speaking on Eurosport after Naomi Osaka thumped Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in the US Open fourth round, Henin called Gauff’s forehand “catastrophic.”

“Osaka did what she had to do by also playing with her experience,” Henin told Eurosport. “She didn’t have to force her talent today either, showing solidity and being present.

“We felt from the start of the match that Coco Gauff had fallen back into her old ways, not especially in terms of her serve but in terms of her forehand, it was catastrophic.

“Obviously, this enormous pressure at the US Open is special for her, but I still think overall, over the whole season, and not so much on the results, what worries me is the lack of evolution in her game. At that age, you’re still progressing, you’re still developing.”

To be fair, Gauff and MacMillan worked together for about a week before this US Open began. Obviously, her serve and forehand are both works in progress.

Reigning Roland Garros champion Gauff said after her loss to Osaka, she felt her serve was sharper, but conceded her groundstrokes let her down as Osaka repeatedly pounded away at her forehand, which lacked net clearance and depth.

In a rematch of US Open champions, a sharp Osaka shredded a sloppy Gauff, who conceded she felt “a little bit empty” on court today.

“Naomi played well. Today was, like, disappointing, because I felt it was the best I served all
tournament. A lot of aces,” said Gauff, who matched Osaka with three aces. “Yeah, there were some
doubles, but I thought, like, that was a good performance from me serving.

“Off the ground I think I just made way too many mistakes, way too many errors, which I feel like that’s the part of my game that I felt the most confident in coming into the tournament. So it was kind of a weird match, like, feeling confident in different areas swapping.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s disappointing. For sure it was not the level that I wanted to bring, but it is a step in the right direction I feel, and I think emotionally how much this week was, I think today I just stepped in, and I maybe was a little bit empty. She forced me to earn every point out there today.”

To be sure, Gauff and MacMillan still have a lot of work ahead, but Gauff has already won a Slam this season and is reigning WTA Finals champion, all at the age of 21 so time is on her side as she aims to grow her game.

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“I think today when I walked on the court — and, I don’t know, I feel like I put so much pressure on myself at my age at 21, and I realize how much the girls on tour are being successful at 25, 26, at those ages,” Gauff said. “For me it just gets me excited to realize if I have four more years of just working as hard as I am right now and actually doing the right things, like where my game could be.”