Rising teen tennis phenom Coco Gauff may seem unstoppable. With her booming serves and blistering groundstrokes, she’s wiped the court with top players. Yet at the recent Australian Open, defending champ Aryna Sabalenka sent Gauff packing in straight sets.
What happened?
As it turns out, Sabalenka ruthlessly targeted a glaring crack in Gauff’s armor – her weaker backhand. While the young American’s forehand is a force, she often struggles with depth and consistency on backhand exchanges. Sabalenka relentlessly hammered away at Gauff’s backhand wing, drawing errors or setting up put-away forehands.
Within the tennis world, coaches have noted Gauff’s backhand as an Achilles’ heel. But her dominant serving and fiery forehand have allowed her to overpower opponents…until now. Against the hard-hitting Sabalenka, Gauff’s backhand buckled under the barrage. And without a solid two-handed weapon, she was unable to turn around the rallies.
For the talented Gauff, it’s a bittersweet lesson – her intimidating game still has room to grow. While her raw potential is undeniable, shoring up that backhand vulnerability will be key to lifting trophies. The good news? At just 18 years old, Coco has plenty of time to take her game to the next level. But for now, the Australian Open exposed cracks that the best players can attack. Don’t expect this setback to keep Gauff down for long though!
