"Coco Gauff will be a dominant server, I was blown away by the days we spent together" - Andy Roddick

Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick recently shared his experience of working with Coco Gauff's camp to iron out the kinks in her serve ahead of the 2024 Australian Open.

Gauff has enjoyed a mercurial rise on the WTA Tour since the second half of 2023. The 19-year-old won her maiden Major title at the US Open in scintillating fashion, overcoming a set deficit to beat Aryna Sabalenka in the championship match. The American also achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 3 last year.

Having said that, several aspects of Coco Gauff's serve have held her back against top-level opponents in the recent past. The teen phenom's coach Brad Gilbert attempted to fix the underlying cause of the problem during the pre-season, which led him to ask for Andy Roddick's advice.

Most fans would know that Andy Roddick is one of the best servers of all time, thanks to his tally of 9,074 aces and a 90% career service game win rate. Against that background, he was perhaps the fittest candidate to offer advice to the 2023 US Open champion before her Melbourne campaign.

The former World No. 1 recently narrated a personal account of working on Gauff's first serve ahead of the 2024 Australian Open on his podcast, claiming that the American was a quick learner and that her dedication to improving her game was impressive.

"With Coco, 15 minutes in she understood the concept. The good ones (first serves) were 124, pretty much on command. The second serve was consistent, had more height," Andy Roddick said on his podcast on YouTube (46:03). "She has the tools now, albeit there's going to be a learning curve. But credit to her, taking something new and walking it out a month later."

"I think Coco will be a dominant server, I was blown away by the two or three days we spent together, the feedback she's able to give, what she's able to take in, and the professional manner. There are people who don't work as hard... they're not a household name like Coco Gauff is. For someone who hasn't turned 20, I was absolutely blown away. I would show up for her anytime she asks, I was so impressed with her. "

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"It's easy to work with someone as talented as Coco Gauff" - Andy Roddick

Coco Gauff serves at the 2024 Australian Open

Andy Roddick then delved deeper into the technical intricacies of Coco Gauff's previous service motion. According to the 41-year-old, the American teen's ball toss on her serve was too tight, which made her vulnerable to double faults.

The 2003 US Open champion had just the right solution to Gauff's serve woes — a higher, more elaborate ball toss motion.

"My version is, her toss was very inconsistent, so on good days, you really wouldn't notice anything. She can have good serving days, but she had never really thought about her toss, right?" Andy Roddick said about Coco Gauff's serve (44:00). "So, it was like, arm-elbow position, folds at the end, and I said one thing can really make a dent in all of those issues. I go, 'You toss the ball from kinda your waist, you kind of have this flip-motion up', which creates spin and you're having to chase it."

"So, when it's working, it's fine. When it's bad, it's really bad. In the World Tour Finals last year, I think it was 25 double faults in one match. I said, 'Listen, we have to create a little bit more margin'. We have to create something that's bankable and it's going to create more speed, the ball's gonna turn a bit more. And I said, 'All you gotta do is just release it from your fingertips and not your palm, and it needs to be released at shoulder height.'"

Roddick's advice seemingly worked for Coco Gauff in Melbourne this year, as she won nearly 80% of her first-serve points in three of her five match wins. And while the American eventually succumbed to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, she can take pride in her serve's significant improvement.