NEW YORK -- Coco Gauff made big changes heading into last year's US Open, most notably hiring Gavin MacMillan to come in and help fix her serve. While the immediate returns weren't exactly what she was hoping for, she's finally seeing the fruits of their labor 12 months later.
"Last year I knew all eyes were going to be on the serve. Gavin is so great at what he does, so I felt a lot of pressure -- even pressure I put on myself to prove he's great at what he does," Gauff said during US Open Media Day. "It didn't really show within the first two weeks, which is normal. But psychologically, I'm now serving and it's 'Oh, I'm going for the ace,' or 'I know I can hit the serve, and the return is probably not going to come back,' versus last year I literally was like 'I hope I make it in."'
That mindset shift was on full display in Cincinnati, where she won her fourth WTA 1000 title. Across the final three matches, she hit just six doubles faults with only one coming in the final. The string of performances was representative of a bigger picture for Gauff, with the steady improvement she's made over the course of the past year reflected in the numbers.
Gauff is on pace to surpass her ace total from a year ago, needing just 20 the rest of the season to do so. She is also projected to finish the year with less double faults than she had in 2025. But the most important development is her jump in service games won, going from 68.8% last year -- her lowest figure since 2021 -- to 69.7% this year as she reapproaches the 70% plateau.
As her serve improves, so does her confidence.
"It feels good to come into a tournament feeling confident on that shot finally," Gauff said. "I still want to improve my serve, but I always knew I was capable of having a good one because I can hit overheads well and I can get up there high on the serve speed. But it was about making it consistent. Once I got confident in the consistency, then I was able to pull the trigger a lot more often.
"Now that I'm returning well and serving well, it just feels good. You feel a lot more at ease when the shot is going in. I didn't even need it to be great. I just needed it to go in -- now it's getting good and it's going in."
What awaits in the Big Apple
Gauff is hoping her positive trajectory continues in New York, where the 2023 US Open champion is set to face World No. 53 Zeynep Sonmez in the first round Tuesday.
After starting the year outside the Top 100, the Turk has made three WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz quarterfinals in 2026 and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 48 before settling into her current spot.
This will be the first meeting between Gauff and Sonmez. Gauff is making her eighth appearance at the US Open, while Sonmez is making her second main-draw appearance at Flushing Meadows after reaching the second round last year.
