Coco Gauff must fix this in her game to avoid another disappointment like Paris, says Serena’s former coach

Coco Gauff’s Olympic dreams dashed by Donna Vekic

Coco Gauff’s quest for Olympic glory came to a premature end as the young American sensation bowed out of the women’s singles event at the Paris Games. Gauff, who had high hopes of making a deep run, found herself on the wrong side of a spirited performance by Croatia’s Donna Vekic.

The defeat was a tough pill to swallow for Gauff, who had been tipped by many as a potential medalist. However, as Serena Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci, had warned, Gauff’s journey to the top has not been without its challenges.

In a pre-Olympics interview with EssentiallySports, Macci expressed cautious optimism about Gauff’s chances in Paris, saying, “There’s a fine line between winning and losing. She loses first round at Wimbledon, okay, then in the hard courts she had a lot of Houdini escapes and she won a tournament. Then more Houdini escapes, close matches, wins a tournament.”

One of the key issues that plagued Gauff during her loss to Vekic was her serve, which Macci had previously highlighted as an area needing improvement. “Confidence is a fleeting thing. She has a big swing, she has a severe grip which is okay but I want to rewire the whole thing,” the legendary coach had said.