Serena Williams comments on what Coco Gauff can improve as defending champion crashes out of US Open in 4R

Serena Williams offered her verdict on Coco Gauff's overall game, talking about what needs to be improved and what doesn't. The 20-year-old, who lifted the title last year, crashed out of the 2024 US Open at the hands of compatriot Emma Navarro.

Williams, who made an appearance at Flushing Meadows as a spectator, was seen chatting with Iga Swiatek, Frances Tiafoe, and Grigor Dimitrov.

She also offered advice to Gauff in an interview with ESPN on what aspects of her game the latter can improve. The 23-time Grand Slam champion said that Gauff could improve her serve.

"I feel like she has a good serve. I think that it can obviously be better, but I feel like she is so young. Oh my goodness, she has the rest of her career to just improve," Williams said.

Williams did not find any critique in Gauff's forehand, which has often come under fire from fans and analysts for not being a weapon.

"I wouldn’t change anything on her forehand. I have seen a lot of interesting forehands," she said.

The 42-year-old urged her to play with confidence even if she was 'hitting it with her wrist or her elbow'.

"And listen, I think if you’re just confident with whatever you have, keep it up and just be confident about it. And I think that’s literally all she needs to do, just have confidence whether she’s hitting it with her wrist or her elbow. Just have confidence doing it," Serena Williams added.

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Coco Gauff on losing in the fourth round at the 2024 US Open: "It is disappointing"

Coco Gauff's US Open title defense ends in the fourth round (Image: Getty)

Coco Gauff accepted in the post-match interview that it wasn't her best summer. She added that even though the results this summer were not up to her level, many players would love to have her results, such as reaching the fourth round at the US Open and being an Olympic flag bearer.

“I guess for me, yeah, it's not the summer that I want. I feel like there's, like, 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had even though it's my least probably done well during this time of the year. It's perspective,” Gauff said.

The American said the result was disappointing but she would not beat herself up over it.

“Obviously because I'm wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing, but I'm not going to beat myself up and be, like, this was so bad. Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around,” she added.

Coco Gauff is set to drop out of the top 5 of the WTA rankings following her fourth-round loss at the US Open.