Coco Gauff was knocked out of the US Open by Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.
Gauff sent a message to her fans after losing in straight sets to the rejuvenated Osaka, and she has some work to do in order to perfect her game.
Tracy Austin has delivered advice to Gauff to try to get her on the straight and narrow, although it has to be said that 2025 has seen some positives.
Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the French Open, but then made a first-round exit at Wimbledon just a few weeks later.
Gauff made a claim about Sabalenka after that final, with the Belarusian being pretty disrespectful to the champion.
American player Gauff made some mistakes before this year’s US Open, and ahead of the next tournament, this feels like a really big time for the star.
Photo by TIMOTHY A.CLARY/AFP via Getty ImagesCoco Gauff now facing important moment in her career
An important aspect of going out relatively early at the US Open for Gauff is that she has been able to sneak out of the spotlight.
Gauff was praised for her classy comments to Osaka, and clearly, she’s one of the more likeable players on tour for the way she remains professional even in defeat.
The 21-year-old has been able to shut herself away from the usual media razzamatazz that follows her around and simply iron out the issues in her game.
Gauff has already stated she plans to work on her game ahead of the Asia swing, and this particular period of work could define the next steps in her entire career.
Gauff has to work on service flaws
Steve Johnson has expressed concerns about Gauff’s inconsistent serve, and that is a fair reservation among her critics.
Gauff is tantalisingly close to becoming a dominant force in tennis, but without her serve being rectified, she has absolutely no chance to kick on and win more major titles.
At 21, there is still bags of time for Gauff to iron out the imperfections and become as consistent as someone like Sabalenka, but her game needs to become more complete.
Gauff’s service game has been a real issue for far too long, and if it’s not rectified right now, it could be something that turns out to impact her across her entire career.
AloJapan.com