Coco Gauff Faces Difficult Draw At U.S. Open

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 09: Coco Gauff of the United States is seen between points against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their Women’s Singles Final match on Day Thirteen of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 09, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

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If Coco Gauff is to win a second U.S. Open crown in three years, she will likely have to navigate one of the more difficult draws on the women’s side.

The No. 3 seed and 2023 U.S. Open champion, Gauff opens play against Asla Tomljanovic, ranked No. 84 in the world.

Gauff, who recently hired Gavin MacMillan to work with her on her serve, could face four-time major champion and No. 23 seed Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.

After that, Gauff could potentially have to beat three other major winners, including Australian Open champion and fellow American No. 6 Madison Keys in the quarters.

In the semis, Gauff was drawn to meet Iga Swiatek, the No. 2 seed who is coming off winning the Cincinnati Open on hardcourts and also won Wimbledon this summer.

In the final, Gauff could potentially meet defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, winner of three hardcourt majors.

Gauff, the highest-paid women’s tennis player in 2025 at $35.2 million, did not participate in the highly successful Mixed Doubles event this week at the U.S. Open, preferring not to “waste mental energy” on it, so she could focus on singles.

She now has a new coaching team in place, with an aim to improve her troubled serve. She was out with MacMillan on Arthur Ashe on Wednesday – and the practice courts – to work on her serve.

“She wants to get better and she’s open to hearing from different people,” Patrick McEnroe said on an ESPN call.

“But it does tell you that there continues to be a problem with her serve, as it’s been consistently inconsistent.”

Gauff parted ways with Brad Gilbert last year after Gauff’s fourth-round exit at the U.S. Open, where she failed to defend her title.

Gauff is 4-4 since winning Roland Garros and lost to Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals in Cincinnati.

“It’s crazy how quickly you can lose your confidence,” ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez said this week on air. “You win a Grand Slam title and you think you’re riding this wave and it’s going to carry over and it doesn’t always happen. For Coco, she had a really tough draw at Wimbledon, playing [Dayana] Yastremska in the first round, a big powerful hitter, so that was I think unfortunate for her not being able to work her way into the tournament.

“And then on the hardcourts she has struggled, primarily with her serve. I think that’s the one shot that if she can settle down and find a way to feel confident that she’s going to make a majority of her first serves and rely on what she did a couple years ago, winning when she wasn’t playing her best and making her opponents beat her some how, making it more physical, then I think she’ll get back to it. But right now, for me, it’s mental.”