Coco Gauff has progressed to the fourth round of the Canadian Open after overcoming Veronika Kudermetova with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory in Montreal. Despite her win, the American expressed disappointment in her serving performance, which has been hindered by a high number of double faults.
The 21-year-old world No. 2 battled through her service struggles, recording 14 double faults in this match alone. This followed an even more challenging opening round where she committed 23 double faults against Danielle Collins, combining for 37 double faults across her first two matches at this WTA 1000 event.
Gauff acknowledged both the positives and negatives of her recent performances, stating, “There’s positives and there’s negatives. Obviously, I am disappointed in myself when it comes to that part of the game because I didn’t play D.C. [Citi DC Open] to work on that and made changes to that. Doing well in practice and serving really well in practice. I just would like it to transfer to the match.” She added, “It does give positives that I’m winning these matches, having literally like one part of my game on a crutch. So it’s like if I can stand on both feet, then I can only imagine that it would be a lot more straightforward and a lot easier for me.”
Serving issues have been a recurring problem for Gauff over the past months. She notably double faulted 19 times in her 2024 US Open fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro and had 21 double faults during losses at the Wuhan and Indian Wells tournaments. Her 37 double faults in Montreal represent the third-highest total at a WTA 1000 event this season, following her 42 at the Italian Open and 38 at Indian Wells.
Reflecting on the statistic, Gauff said, “I don’t want to lead that stat, and I want to do better. I know I probably won’t be ever double fault-free, but if I could get that to 2%, 3%, it would make a big difference in just making these matches a lot easier. The fact that I’m winning matches and finding ways to win with that is definitely a positive. But I’m a tough critic of myself. I know I can do better, and I know I should do better. It will get better. It’s just a matter of time.”
Gauff is set to face local favorite Victoria Mboko in the fourth round of the Canadian Open, a player she previously defeated in three sets at the Italian Open. The winner of that match will move on to face either Zhu Lin or Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the quarter-finals.