Brad Gilbert had to sit and listen to his ESPN colleague brutally analyse Coco Gauff's serve (Image: Getty)
Brad Gilbert was forced to sit and listen as one of his colleagues gave a brutal analysis of Coco Gauff’s game following her exit from the US Open.
The defending champion lost to Emma Navarro in the fourth round on Sunday. It was a sloppy performance from Gauff, who hit 19 double faults and 60 total unforced errors to lose 6-3 4-6 6-3.
Rennae Stubbs tore into Gauff’s second serve during ESPN’s post-match coverage while the world No. 3’s coach was beside her.
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As well as being Gauff’s coach, Gilbert is a pundit for ESPN and juggles his duties during the Grand Slams. And it was no different after the 20-year-old was stunned by Navarro in the fourth round.
Moments after the third seed crashed out of the tournament, her coach appeared on TV to discuss her defeat and was asked where her confidence went during the match. “It’s funny, we go to the practice courts and it’s fine,” he started.
“Hasn’t been a problem but all of a sudden - you know, listen, for me the most important thing that gotta get right is being able, when you are in a situation, is being able to hit one speed. It’s like, okay, just hit 85 [mph] in the middle of the box, a working serve and then move on.
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Coco Gauff has already admitted that her serve issues could be mental (Image: Getty)
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“Because with the women, it’s a little different than men’s second serves, and a lot of women are more aggressive on the second serve returns but I still feel like it’s just that one constant speed, being able to hit in the middle of the box like 85, 90. Serena had a massive first serve but she didn’t have a massive second. But she had a great, working serve that she could rely on.”
But Stubbs - who previously coached Serena Williams - went a step further and explained just how detrimental the serve was to Gauff’s game. The Australian explained: “That’s the thing. I mean, the thing with Emma [Navarro] is that she’s always looking to attack, and most women are looking to attack because they often see a slow second serve in women’s tennis not like in the men’s.
“But the difference with Coco’s, as you said, sometimes she was hitting in the mid-90s the second serve. Then she was going a little bit slower in the middle. There’s no second serve that’s the same, and that’s a problem. So under pressure, bad technique breaks down.”
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Coco Gauff lost to fellow American Emma Navarro (Image: Getty)
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The retired former doubles No. 1 admitted she found it tough to criticise Gauff with Gilbert sitting next to her but continued her frank analysis. “And her technique - and it’s hard for me to say it because Brad’s sitting here as her coach and all. But the technique, the elbow is too low, the grip I feel like is a little weird as well,” Stubbs continued.
“So it’s hard to get nice massaging first serve or, we call it a three-quarter pace first serve, and then same or similar as a second serve. But you’ve got to be able to hit your spots on a second serve under pressure. And as you say, she served great in practice.
“And I hate to say this, but move people serve great in practice because they don’t have 15,000 people eying them and millions of people watching on TV. And Billie Jean King always says bad technique breaks down under pressure and unfortunately for Coco, this year, that’s what happened. Because she’s not confident as well.”
The serve is something Gauff wants to address. After the tough loss, she said she would “for sure” consider hiring someone to help her with the specific shot. “I definitely want to get other opinions because, you know -- and also I think it's sometimes more of an emotional, mental thing because if I go out on the practice court right now, I would make, like, 30 serves in a row. I've done it before,” she said.
“I think it's also just kind of a mental hurdle that I have to get over when it comes with that. But, yeah, I definitely want to look at other things because I don't want to lose matches like this anymore.”
