Coco Gauff is an alternative tennis table that serves as a great warning Raducanu and others | Tennis | Sport

American tennis sensation Coco Gauff has used her powerful serve to stand out among the rising young stars of women’s tennis. At just 18 years old, Gauff is already serving harder than many of his peers, reaching 120 mph and beyond.

The tennis world was stunned in 2019 when the then 15-year-old Gauff dismissed 23-time Slam winner Venus Williams in her opening match at Wimbledon. That’s when his service game was completely put under the microscope.

Fast forward almost four years and his service game is still thriving. This year’s Australian Open – the first Grand Slam of the year – may not have been memorable for the 18-year-old, but his serving stats certainly left a lasting impression on his opponents.

The Atlanta native returned this year with improved technique, which was evident in Melbourne when the American hit the fastest serve in the women’s draw.

However, despite reaching the fourth round, his serve did not save his fate.

A frustrated Gauff broke down in tears after a 7-5 6-3 loss to Jelena Ostapenko, and the American later admitted she couldn’t come up with answers to the Latvian’s game.

Despite bowing, Gauff hit the fastest delivery Down Under – clocked at a whopping 121 mph. This impressive feat tied her with the event’s runner-up, Elena Rybakina, who achieved the same speed in three more matches.

His ability to consistently hit aces and service winners was a major factor in his past success, which was rewarded with victory at the 2023 ASB Classic. His serve is not only a weapon, but also a tool to score free points and dominate rallies.

This isn’t the first time Gauff has dazzled fans and opponents with his amazing speed. At last year’s US Open, she clocked the third-fastest serve in women’s history during her second-round win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Her 128mph serve was just behind Venus Williams’ 129mph serve in 2007 and Alycia Parks’ 129mph serve at last year’s US Open.

Delving into serve speed, Gaff told reporters last September after a 6-2, 7-6(4) win: “I’m not going to go for the fastest serve, to be honest. Sometimes I say, ‘Go hard.’ [into the] corpse.”

“I saw the service clock afterwards. I saw it read 128. I looked at it and I was like, ‘Huh.’ still fast, but it shouldn’t have been that hard.

“I looked at him afterwards. I hit a couple of good passes in that game in the 120s. He was laughing at his box. I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on either.'”