Coco Gauff receives touching message from Serena Williams' ex-coach after Qatar Open heartbreak

Serena Williams' ex-coach, Rick Macci, made an optimistic prediction about Coco Gauff. According to Macci, the young American has massive potential, however, there's still a need to stay confident during matches. This, according to the renowned mentor, could help her avoid mistakes.

Gauff suffered a surprising early exit from the Qatar Open on Tuesday after losing in straight sets to Marta Kostyuk. The former US Open champion had a strong lead in the second set but couldn’t hold on. This allowed the Ukrainian to secure a 6-2, 7-5 win. With this victory, Kostyuk moved on to the third round, where she will face either Magda Linette or Magdalena Frech in an all-Polish matchup.

Soon after Gauff’s disappointing exit, Serena Williams’ former coach stepped in to offer support. Instead of simply letting the WTA star dwell on the loss, he shared an optimistic prediction. However, his advice came with a condition—an important improvement the young American needs to make.

"Coco will be fine as she is a fighter and has turbo jets in her shoes. X factor for greatness is the second serve not connected properly and the forehand is the same. When your confident technical flaws can Hide. When you get nervous they bubble up and opponents Seek. @CocoGauff," he wrote on X.

Coco Gauff's rival unveils the reason behind her fortunate win

Marta Kostyuk at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open - Day Three - Source: Getty

Coco Gauff's rival Marta Kostyuk didn't back down from unveiling the element that helped her secure the stunning win. According to the Ukrainian, Gauff's serve issues gave her an upper edge in the high-stakes match that ended with an unexpected outcome.

Gauff was seen struggling with her serve as she played for the first time since her quarter-final loss to Paula Badosa at the Australian Open. She hit seven double faults throughout the match.

In a post-match interview, following her round of 32 wins, Kostyuk made it clear that frequent double faults from Gauff helped her excel.

“The double-faults made it easier for me… I’m very happy that it ended in two sets," Kostyuk told BeIN Sports.

Although Gauff fought back in the second set, Kostyuk responded strongly and therefore, took advantage of Gauff’s mistakes. The match ended with Gauff serving two double faults, which led to her fifth break of serve and sealed Kostyuk’s victory.

This marked Coco Gauff's second defeat on hard courts after the setback against Paula Badosa in Melbourne.