Rennae Stubbs believes that Coco Gauff needs to make adjustments soon to avoid potential issues down the road.
Gauff had been at risk of falling out of the top four in the WTA rankings before the French Open, but she managed to hold onto her spot.
The victory over Andreeva marked Gauff’s third straight three-set match at the Italian Open, and Stubbs has cautioned that this could become a problem for her if it continues.
Stubbs highlights concern with Coco Gauff playing so many three set matches
Despite her ongoing issues with the serve, Gauff has managed to push through and now finds herself just one win away from the Italian Open final.
Stubbs, a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion, has pointed out a technical flaw in Gauff’s serve and also discussed the potential long-term impact of these extended matches.
“Physically, right now she’s young. Right now she’s going to get away with this and she’s going to bounce right back, but when she gets to 28, 29, 30, 31 if she’s playing that long, those matches start to take their toll on your body,” Stubbs said on her podcast.
“And as fit and fast and as great an athlete as she is, she’s young, and the more miles she puts on her body on the tennis court because stress affects your body differently when she gets to 30.”
“The knees will start to get a bit sorer, the hips will start to get a little bit tighter,” Stubbs added. “The shoulders start to have to work a little bit too much. Those are the sort of things that she will have to start really think about going forward.”
“Listen for me, I’ve pointed out a few things technically. I don’t know if you ever notice this when serving. If you watch where her hand is on her grip…so what happens is that when you look at it closely. She has her finger up like if it’s pointing something.”
“There’s little technical things. I know she’s working with Gavin MacMillan – love the guy,” Stubbs said.
How Gauff’s court time stacks up against the rest of the Italian Open semifinal field
Gauff’s heavy workload in Rome stands out even more when you look at how much time she’s spent on court compared to the other players left in the draw.
The American has logged nearly nine hours across her four matches, a figure that’s over two hours higher than any of the other semifinalists. Iga Swiatek is the closest, but still well behind Gauff in total court time.
Sorana Cirstea, who took down Aryna Sabalenka earlier in the tournament, has spent less time on court than anyone else still in contention. She’ll face Gauff next.
While Gauff holds a 3-0 record against Cirstea and recently beat her in Madrid, the difference in recovery and freshness could play a role this time around.
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