Coco's New Coach, A "Grip Specialist", and her Double Faults.

[jimlosaltos]

Coco recently fired her uber coach Brad Gilbert, who had helped take her to a US Open title. Some noted that Brad is mainly a strategic coach and Coco's problems with her forehand and serve might call for a more technique-oriented coach, such as Wim Fissette, recently separated from Naomi Osaka (Naomi in turn surprised by hiring Patrick Mouratoglou, she said because he coached Serena. Good luck there, Naomi). Well, Coco went in that direction, perhaps to an extreme. She hired a near-unknown, Matt Daly who is a self-proclaimed "Grip Specialist". Yes, grips.

Facebook page for Coco's new coach Matt Daly refers to him as GripMD Co-Founder circa 2021.

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Separately, and I presume not having much to do with her grip, . Jeff Sackman has a detailed analysis of Coco Gauff's second serve troubles at his blog. This is timely since Coco just lost to Anya in 3 sets in the Singapore semifinals while hitting 21 doubles. Guess firing Brad didn't fit that, somehow. Presumably, Aryna felt some sympathy.

Short version: Jeff says that if Coco fixed her second serve she would, statistically at the least, become the best WTA player in the world. Here's an excerpt:
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By service points won--where the double faults come into play--Gauff ranks a more pedestrian 12th. That's entirely because of the deliveries that miss. She wins more first-serve points than anyone except for Qinwen Zheng and Elena Rybakina. In an era without megastars, the combination of 1st or 2nd on return and 12th on serve might be good enough to lead the field, but with an all-rounder like Swiatek and a dominant slugger like Sabalenka to contend with, it doesn't do the job.
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Here, then, is the what-if. Wave a magic wand and proclaim that all of Gauff's second serves find the box. The 9% of her service points that end in double faults turn into second serves in play: points that she wins at a 56% clip.
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Do that, and her rate of serve points won--currently at 60.2%, good for 12th place--becomes 65.3%, better than anybody. A double-fault-free Coco Gauff would rack up more serve points than anyone on tour, while still winning almost as many return points as Iga does. A handful of key points might swing the year-end number one in either direction, but statistically, the American would be the best player in the world. {He goes further "Take away half of her double faults, and at the very least she looks stronger than Sabalenka and Rybakina.}

Please check out his blog for more at this link.


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[stotty]

Interesting analysis. I don't watch enough women's tennis to comment with any authority, however, from what I have seen of Coco, I would definitely make the call to adjust her forehand grip. I know it's a major change but it would work. Coco has a lot of ability and is committed, and that's all you need to pull it off. Brad is a motivator more than a coach. He likely talked her into winning her US Open title but the key problems will never go away unless they are solved.

Once again we see a great player screwed up by lousy development coaching. We need to start pointing and shipping development coaches over to Tennisplayer for some insights.

[johnyandell]

This is true. And Jim we had an analysis of Coco's second here that beats that blog. Did you see it?

[jimlosaltos]

This is true. And Jim we had an analysis of Coco's second here that beats that blog. Did you see it?

Yup. My oblique ref was 'it will take more than a grip change" but a link is more useful.

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/tour_strokes/sean_oneil/coco_gauff_second_serve/

[johnyandell]

In my opinion it's not the grip on either shot.

[stroke]

In my opinion it's not the grip on either shot.

John, are you saying a "grip specialist" cannot fix this situation?

[jimlosaltos]

John, are you saying a "grip specialist" cannot fix this situation?

Thanks. That made my morning.

But .... what about the volley?

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[stroke]

Thanks. That made my morning.

But .... what about the volley?

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There is definitely an argument here for a "grip specialist" input. At the risk of being politically inappropriate here, I would say that looks like USTA 3.5 technique. I would think Pat Cash, who has contributed to tennisplayer.net and was a top tier world class volleyer, would say the is a NO for me.

[hybridfh]

Here, then, is the what-if. Wave a magic wand and proclaim that all of Gauff's second serves find the box. The 9% of her service points that end in double faults turn into second serves in play: points that she wins at a 56% clip.

...I think that's oversimplifying. Maybe she wins less than 56% of 2nd serves she puts in the box if she's hitting them spinnier and with less pace as a result of having a more consistent 2nd serve.