'Literally serving until my shoulder was hurting': Coco Gauff mentally exhausted after US Open practice week

Coco Gauff survived a testing opening match at the 2025 US Open, beating Ajla Tomljanović 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 in a gruelling first-round encounter. After the win, she spoke at length about her new serve motion, the mental challenge of implementing changes under Grand Slam pressure, and the honour of being recognised by the International Tennis Writers Association.

Before questions began at the US Open, Gauff was named ITWA Ambassador of the Year, an award voted on by more than 100 tennis writers worldwide. It honours a player who best represents the sport, whether after wins or losses, and is consistently generous with time and insight.

“Thank you. Oh wow, that’s nice,” Gauff said when presented with the honour. “I was worried a bit. At least I would have got this then, so that’s cool. I won the match and I’m Ambassador of the Year – very cool. Thank you.

“I always try to be honest and positive and give you guys my thoughts. I’ve lost some tough ones and still came in and gave you a good one, so I don’t think I’ll change.”

Mentally draining week

On court, Gauff admitted the match had been mentally exhausting, and she expanded on that afterwards. “When I said that, I was referring more to the practice week, not the match,” she clarified. “The match was what it was – I’m so used to these long battles. But the practice week was tough because I was spending a lot of time on court, literally serving until my shoulder was hurting.

“It’s tough, but I feel like it’s in the right direction. The key for me is trying not to go back to old habits in those tighter moments, and I think I did that today, especially in the third set. I knew when I made this change that maybe I wouldn’t serve my best right away, but I didn’t want to waste any more time.

“If I could have worked with Gavin (MacMillan) earlier, I would have, but he was on another player’s team. Then he became available, and I knew I had to make a quick decision. Hopefully by this time next year, I’ll be serving much better.”

Old vs New Habits

The third set, she said, was a vivid example of battling between old patterns and the new technique. “Honestly, that third set was the definition of that,” Gauff explained. “The game where I served at 5–4 was definitely an old habit. The next game was a lot better. The more confident I get, the more I can go for it.

“I don’t think I served so fast today. I’d like to get up there in numbers, but I need more reps. If it was another player, maybe it would’ve been more straightforward, but we had so many long rallies and she didn’t miss many returns. It’s tough battling that internal fight, especially since this is the first tournament I’ve tried this. I wish I could have started in Montreal, but it is what it is.”

At 6–5 in the final set, she trusted her new coach Gavin MacMillan’s work. “It’s all mechanics,” she said. “At 6–5 I told myself, ‘OK, I have to trust what we did on court,’ and that’s what I did. It’s a new motion. Sometimes I do it well, sometimes not so well. But when I do it, the result is always good. The challenge is reminding myself how to do it when so much is going through my head – not just the serve, but where to serve, how to play the point, what she’s going to do. I just need to remember how I felt today and use that in the next match.”