Coco Gauff spent the weeks leading into the US Open focused on a major overhaul of her service motion, a process that proved both physically and mentally demanding. After splitting with Matt Daly following the Cincinnati Open, she enlisted biomechanical coach Gavin MacMillan and devoted extra time on court to rework her serve. The short window between the WTA 1000 event and the US Open limited how much could be changed, and Gauff paid the price in New York.

She needed three sets to get past Ajla Tomljanovic in round one, and she admitted the sessions with MacMillan were often painful, with her shoulder hurting after training. There were tears during her second-round victory over Donna Vekic, and after a two-set fourth-round loss to Naomi Osaka she said she broke down following her exit at the season-ending Grand Slam.

Some commentators suggested an extended break might help her both recharge and continue the technical work. Gauff, however, confirmed she will not step away from competition and plans to travel to Asia later in September for the China Open. “I have no choice but to do a training block between now and Beijing, just the next tournament I’m signed up for,” she said.

She framed the remainder of the season as a learning period and a lead-in to the Australian swing. “And like, I’ve said this every year after US Open, for me, it’s just improvement mode and to get ready for Australia. I had good results last year after US Open, and I think that’s just because I didn’t, I don’t want to say didn’t care because those tournaments obviously deserve effort, but I don’t know, it’s just that your mindset is different once the Slams are over.”

Gauff is the defending champion in Beijing; that 2024 title run arrived when she was struggling through the North American hard-court swing, unable to defend her Cincinnati and US Open crowns before reversing course with a WTA 1000 trophy and then the WTA Finals title in Saudi Arabia in November. The reigning French Open champion added: “So whatever happens for the rest of the year, I just want it to be an improvement. I don’t care, results-wise. Last year, if he told me I would go win in Beijing and WTA Finals, I would have been like, whatever, as I didn’t really care going into it.

“I’m going to probably have that same mindset. And if I do well, I’ll do well like I did last year. And if not, if not. But I think for me, main improvements I get are from how I do in the Slams.”