Andrea Petkovic sees a clear double standard in how the tennis world evaluates Coco Gauff, and the former world No. 9 is using German tennis icons, Steffi Graf and Boris Becker, to explain the disconnect. Gauff turned 22 last month and already has two Grand Slam singles titles under her belt, but her persistent service struggles often overshadow her elite resume. During the latest episode of “The Big T Podcast,” Petkovic pushed back against the criticism surrounding Gauff’s game.
Coco Gauff’s Biggest Weapon is Her Mind, Believes Andrea Petkovic
Despite her remarkable achievements, Coco Gauff continues to be “underestimated” due to concerns about her serve and an inconsistent forehand, according to Andrea Petkovic. Drawing from her own experience of facing Gauff in 2019, Petkovic emphasized just how difficult it is to battle the American on court.
“I want to talk a little bit about Coco Gauff. She is 22 years old. She’s won two Major titles. She’s been in the top five for virtually 25 years basically and still somehow, I feel like she’s underestimated because she has ‘flaws’ in her game but these flaws are in a way sometimes also strength for her,” Petkovic said. “I want to urge the people to look at it from a perspective of it’s freaking difficult to play Coco Gauff and sometimes we underestimate her.”
The German also concurred with co-host Alison Riske-Amritraj’s view that Gauff’s biggest strength is her mentality, which was often overlooked as a weapon despite how well the World No. 3 wielded it. “I love that you phrased it, her biggest weapon is in her mind. I think that’s very accurate because we don’t see it as a weapon but it certainly is, and Coco shows it every day,” she added.
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Petkovic also drew an intriguing parallel to Boris Becker and Steffi Graf to illustrate how Gauff is perceived by tennis fans. She pointed out that while Graf’s dominance made her seem unapproachable and “robotic,” Becker connected with audiences because of his visible struggles and his ability to overcome challenges on the court.
“Steffi Graf and Boris Becker when they were at their very peak, people connected emotionally a lot more to Boris because he seemed more relatable because he would fail over and over again on the court and then somehow in a Greek tragedy win in the fifth set after saving 17 match points, right?” Petkovic said.” And Steffi was so good that she was so dominant that people kind of viewed her as cold or robotic.”
The former world No. 9 expressed her belief that Gauff fell in the same bracket as Becker. She suggested that the deep emotional investment fans had in the two-time Grand Slam champion could often turn into “unfair” criticism when she fell short of expectations.
“I think that’s why people also get so emotionally invested with Coco you know that sometimes it turns into being unfair because they can relate to that kind of like being down on yourself and looking down and out,” she added.
Coco Gauff was most recently in action at the Miami Open, where she made a stellar run to the final before falling short against Aryna Sabalenka. The world No. 1 claimed a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory in the blockbuster clash to complete the Sunshine Double. Both players will now commence their clay-court seasons at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, commencing on April 13.
