Coco Gauff arrived in Riyadh as the defending WTA Finals champion, seeking to become just the fourth woman in 25 years to claim back-to-back titles. However, her opening matches have showcased the dramatic inconsistency that has plagued her season.
After suffering a three-set loss to Jessica Pegula, she bounced back with a convincing straight-set victory over Jasmine Paolini, prompting tennis legend Jimmy Connors to analyze the real issue holding her back.
Coco Gauff’s Struggles at the WTA Finals and Jimmy Connors’ Analysis
Gauff’s opening match against Pegula was marked by significant technical problems on the court. The 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 scoreline told only part of the story. She committed 17 double faults and struck 75 total unforced errors, with her forehand particularly troublesome at 45 unforced errors, a striking majority of her mistakes from a stroke that typically serves as one of her weapons.
The timing made the loss particularly puzzling. Just weeks earlier at the Wuhan Open, where she claimed the title, Gauff’s serve was solid and her groundstrokes clean. This dramatic decline caught the attention of tennis legend Jimmy Connors, who broke down the match on his Advantage Connors podcast.
Connors zeroed in on Gauff’s forehand struggles first. “40 unforced errors on her forehand, and that’s not even her backhand, but she was still in the match,” he said, highlighting both the volume of errors and her competitive spirit. He recommended she “clean that up a little bit.”
When discussing her ranking and abilities, Connors acknowledged her quality. “She’s the third-best player in the world. She’s a great athlete. The way she moves, you get on a roll like that. I mean, you can get on a good roll and a bad roll. That’s a bad roll where you just continue to make unforced errors.”
Yet Connors’ fundamental assessment pointed deeper than technical issues. He was convinced the problem wasn’t physical. “It’s not physical because she’s in great shape. The way she plays something’s going through her mind. You know that that doesn’t allow her to just cut loose and play,” the former World No. 1 said.
He added: “Maybe she’s thinking too much, I don’t know.”
Gauff’s Performance So Far at WTA Finals
Gauff’s second match provides compelling evidence for Connors’ mental assessment theory. Two days after losing to Pegula, she faced Paolini and won convincingly 6-3, 6-2, despite her opponent dealing with lingering illness. The key difference wasn’t physical preparation but rather mental confidence and approach.
Gauff’s second match provides compelling evidence for Connors’ mental assessment theory. Two days after losing to Pegula, she faced Paolini and won convincingly 6-3, 6-2, despite her opponent dealing with lingering illness. The key difference wasn’t physical preparation but rather mental confidence and approach.
Her serving statistics paint a particularly revealing picture. Against Pegula, her first serve connected at just 54% while she won only 28% of her second serve points, two alarming figures contributing to her opening loss. Against Paolini, these numbers improved dramatically, with her first serve reaching 67%, while second serve points won jumped to 75%.
Now facing Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday in what’s a do or die match, Gauff must maintain the mental clarity she showed against Paolini to compete with the World No. 1.
MORE: Aryna Sabalenka vs Coco Gauff Preview: Head-to-Head and Prediction for WTA Finals 2025
