Former world No 6 Chanda Rubin had one “concern” about Coco Gauff as she assessed her countrywoman’s prospects at the 2025 US Open.
Gauff fell to a 6-2, 4-6, 3-6 defeat to world No 8 Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
Against the Italian, Gauff landed only 54% of her first serves and won just 31% of her second serve points as she hit 16 double faults.
The 21-year-old American overcame Wang Xinyu and Lucia Bronzetti en route to the last eight in Cincinnati, while she also received a walkover from Dayana Yastremska in the third round.
Gauff has dropped from second to third in the WTA Rankings after Iga Swiatek saw off Paolini in the final at the WTA 1000 event.
The two-time Grand Slam champion was stunned 6-1, 6-4 by eventual winner Victoria Mboko in the last 16 in Montreal having struggled with her second serve throughout the event.
Speaking on Tennis Channel, Rubin weighed in on Gauff’s preparation for her home Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.
“Coco Gauff, she won Roland Garros, she made a tough transition onto the grass, she figured kind of, tough turnaround, she had a lot of things going on, she didn’t quite get it going there,” said the seven-time WTA Tour singles titlist.
“Now to start the hard court swing, she’s won a few matches, she’s won some matches here [in Cincinnati], didn’t have to play a couple of matches. But I just thought she might be in a bit of a better place.
“We saw it with the double faults, she handles it so beautifully, but we saw her start to get a little bit frayed, get a little irritated, kind of direct it to her team there, so that, for me, would be the only concern.
“How is she feeling? Does she feel confident she can work through some tough matches in New York? Does she have enough matches behind her on the hard courts?
“So, that would be my concern, but certainly she has that ability, she has the athleticism to turn it on and in New York she gets such incredible energy, I think that’s going to go a long way for her.
“But certainly, the game was a little frustrating for her, certainly against Paolini.”
