Aryna Sabalenka Vows To Not Make Coco Gauff’s Mistake After Parting Ways From Technical Coach

Despite the untouchable auras of star athletes, even the best of the best always require a little of help to get them to that place, and there are a number of people behind every tennis player to help better their stamina, posture and, yes, of course, serves! In the case of Aryna Sabalenka, the biomechanic expert Gavin MacMillan helped her to go from serving double faults to now being one of the best servers on the WTA tour! But now, the expert has shifted sides.

After Aryna Sabalenka and MacMillan parted ways, he was sought after by Coco Gauff to help her with her serve, as the current world No. 3 hasn’t been having the best serving season, and has been a victim to many double faults and unforced errors herself. Since Gauff and Sabalenka are rivals, both at the top of the game, fans were keen to know what Sabalenka’s strategy was, considering Gauff now has access to her old secret weapon.

When asked what Sabalenka’s game would look like without MacMillan, the world No. 1 said, “I think we’ll learn a lot on the biomechanic side of the game. And um if not him, I’m pretty sure there is um some other specialist in this area.” Sabalenka seemed certain she’d find someone to fill the gap, if at all she would need them at this point in her game!

To contextualize this, the tennis star then proceeded to comment on her progress from the double faulting days, stating, “And if hopefully I won’t be um serving double faults that much and I won’t need someone like that. But I think I have really smart team…and uh people who went with me through a lot…and if we ever going to be looking into something like that, they’re going to be able to fix me.” Sabalenka’s faith in herself and her team is commendable.

Back in 2022, ironically it was the same matchup against a very familiar foe in Toronto that pushed Sabalenka to handle her serving woes. Back then, Sabalenka had raked up 428 double faults in that season and 18 in that particular match against Gauff, a match that she ultimately lost, that intensified her inclination towards biomechanics. Cue Gavin MacMillan’s entry.

Now Gauff has found herself in a predicament. With a staggering 320 double faults this season alone, Gauff’s form took a hit that even a title win at Roland Garros could not salvage. But now, from Sabalenka’s statement, it is clear that she has faith in her team and in her own serve. MacMillan’s shift to Gauff’s side should not faze her too much!

Chances of Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff facing off in the 2025 US Open

A real test of MacMillan’s training efficiency will depend on Coco Gauff’s performance in the US Open. Though it has just been days that Gauff has been training with MacMillan, her litmus test will be her face off against Aryna Sabalenka at the 2025 US Open. Gauff seems to have made good progress, which was visible when she played Ajla Tomljanović (the player famed for defeating Serena Williams in her final professional tennis match at the 2023 US Open).

Gauff did struggle and admitted this herself, “It was a tough match.” Gauff said in her post-match presser, “I had chances for it to be straight sets, but Ajla was tough.” Though Gauff hasn’t perfected her serve, or the double faults which she made 10, she is a step up from where she was during the Montreal Open, where she made 23. Gauff is now preparing for her R2 match against Donna Vekic.

Aryna Sabalenka, on the other hand, has so far breezed through her round 1 and round 2 matches, both of them two setters, and is en route to preparing for her third. In match 1, Sabalenka recorded 2 aces and 2 double faults, and in match 2, it was five each.

If Gauff and Sabalenka do face off, it would be Sabalenka’s chance to avenge her Roland Garros final loss, and perhaps MacMillan will want to use the match as an opportunity to prove himself.