Venus and Serena Williams’ former tennis coach may soon be coaching another tennis phenom.
According to Sportskeeda, Rick Macci, who helped Venus and Serena perfect their craft, is interested in doing the same for tennis star Coco Gauff. In a recent podcast hosted by Patrick McEnroe, he stated that Macci is looking to help fine-tune the athlete’s game. He sees potential in the 19-year-old winning several major tournaments in the future.
On the podcast Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe, he revealed that Macci has been in contact with Gauff’s current trainer, her father, Corey Gauff. He indicated the flaw in Gauff’s game is her forehand, according to Macci. McEnroe said that he believed Macci was the right person to correct that for her.
“Nobody is better at breaking down the technical aspects of the game. And according to him, he’s been in touch with Coco’s father about possibly spending some time to obviously try to fix that forehand. Because we all know the forehand swing and the technique on the forehead is very shaky.”
Although Gauff recently lost to Paula Badosa in straight sets at the 2023 Madrid Open, she is still ranked in the World Tennis Association’s top 10. After losing the doubles final with Jessica Pegula against Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia, according to Tennis Net, Gauff expressed dismay that she couldn’t address the media after the loss.
Gauff has been ranked as high as No. 4 and has already competed in a Grand Slam final before reaching her 19th birthday. At 18 years old, she was the second-youngest American player to have a Top 10 ranking and the second-youngest player in history to earn a WTA World No. 1 Doubles Ranking.
Last year, BLACK ENTERPRISE reported that Gauff became the only active woman tennis player with her own signature shoe. After a successful sneaker launch last summer, New Balance announced a long-term contract extension with the tennis star.