Former Grand Slam champion tells Coco Gauff to take the 'rest of the year off' after her US Open defeat

Coco Gauff has been told to skip the rest of the year after losing to Naomi Osaka at the US Open.

It was a crushing defeat for the young American, who was outclassed from start to finish. The 6-3, 6-2 scoreline arguably doesn’t even emphasise just how dominant the victor was, as she did not face a break point all night.

There were many factors to explain why Coco Gauff could not trouble Naomi Osaka, but chief among them were the countless errors that once again came from her racket.

This has been a longstanding problem now, and one that she has admittedly taken measures to solve.

We will now see how the next few months can reshape her game for the better.

Coco Gauff told to skip the rest of the year after US Open loss

Speaking on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the former four-time Grand Slam doubles champion, after whom the podcast is named, suggested that Gauff simply will not have the time to make the changes she needs.

As such, her suggestion was an extreme one, but something she was certain would bring about the changes necessary.

Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Stubbs stated: “Coco is not comfortable. She is fighting demons, she is fighting her serve and her forehand.

“Gavin has come in to try and do his best to correct some of the stuff, but that is impossible to do in a week. It’s impossible.

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“Especially when they are really egregious. Her grip and technique is really tough to change in a week.

“I think she should take the entire rest of the year off. The whole rest of the year off and break every single thing down.”

Year Event Round Winner 2025 US Open Round of 16 Coco Gauff 2024 Beijing Open Round of 16 Coco Gauff 2022 San Jose Round of 32 Coco Gauff 2021 Cincinnati Open Round of 32 Naomi Osaka 2020 Australian Open Round of 32 Coco Gauff 2019 US Open Round of 32 Naomi Osaka Coco Gauff’s head-to-head record vs Naomi Osaka

She then turned her attention to Osaka, briefly: “Today, we saw a more complete tennis player in Naomi Osaka. She has a more complete serve, a better grip on her ground strokes, her forehand, her backhand. She knows what she is doing. She sees a short ball and knows where she is going with it.

“With the way Coco is, it’s like she does not know whether to go high with the forehand or loopy.

“I mean, match point was just a basic forehand in the middle of the net. So it’s like Naomi is a more complete tennis player right now. She is playing better.

“Coco cannot use just her speed on the court when you are playing someone who is going to hit you from side to side and not really miss and hit it really well.”

Gauff hired Gavin MacMillan on the eve of the US Open, but it is expected to take months, and even years before we see the fruits of his labour.

Coco Gauff definitely needs to take time away from tournaments

Whilst taking the entire rest of the year off might be a little bit of an extreme measure, Gauff could certainly benefit from some smarter scheduling in the coming months.

After all, it is almost impossible to make wholesale changes to her game when she is constantly competing in tournaments and trying to win at all costs.

At this US Open, the 21-year-old was not developing by making her way through the draw. In fact, it actually seemed to be harming her.

That is actually why Gauff’s loss at the US Open could be a good thing.

Abandoning the entire rest of the season is not completely necessary, but perhaps omitting a few tournaments in favour of time on the practice court with MacMillan should be an alternative priority going forward.

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