Coco Gauff may still have some things to work on, even though she just picked up her third WTA 1000 title last week.
Gauff came out strong in the Wuhan Open final, beating Jessica Pegula to bounce back from her loss to Amanda Anisimova in Beijing.
She didn’t drop a set during the tournament and continues to build an impressive record in finals.
While Gauff has once again shown herself to be a threat on tour, former doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs believes there are still areas where she can improve.
Rennae Stubbs shares doubts about Coco Gauff’s Grand Slam consistency
Gauff’s serve remains a talking point, and it was far from flawless in Wuhan, where she committed 27 double faults over her five matches.
Stubbs had already raised concerns after watching Gauff lose to Amanda Anisimova at the China Open and seems to still have doubts despite the win in Wuhan.
Speaking on her podcast, Stubbs spoke about the issues in Gauff’s game and the pressure it puts her under, suggesting that it could become a problem late into major tournaments.
“The thing about winning ugly is that it’s so stressful,” said Stubbs. “At some point, how much is she going to be able to take of, ‘I can’t get a serve in the court. I can’t hit my forehand! It’s not like I’m a bit nervous today’.
“Jess Pegula’s biggest issue is that her racket doesn’t feel great or she can’t feel the ball, but she’s never like I know I can’t hit a serve.
“I would hate to walk out on the court and know that there were two weaknesses that were so glaring everyone knew about and as soon as I miss one or two of them be like ‘everyone knows I can’t hit my forehand in the court’.
“How many players in the top 10 are going ‘I hope I can hit this shot today?’ That’s Coco. There were times when she was double faulting again—that was in both the semis and finals. But she just keeps pushing through. She really is built differently.
“I give her tons of credit. I love her. But I’m not sure if that’s enough because at some point, again, in a big match at a major, could it hurt her? Maybe those areas need more work.”
How Coco Gauff continues to win despite a high number of double faults
Gauff has hit more double faults than anyone else on the WTA Tour in 2025. The next closest is Ekaterina Alexandrova, who’s still 125 behind her.
Even though those numbers highlight an obvious flaw, Gauff’s strength in other areas — particularly her return game — keeps her competitive. Her return numbers this season have been excellent.
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No one on the WTA Tour has won a higher percentage of return points in 2025 among players with over 20 matches played. More importantly, she’s also ahead of every other player ranked inside the top five in that category.
She closed out last year strong too, winning both the China Open and the WTA Finals. Now, after adding the Wuhan Open to her list of titles, she’ll be hoping her serve holds up as she looks to defend that WTA Finals crown.
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