By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Photo credit: Antoine Couvercelle/ROLEX
Coco Gauff continues to build her game.
The reigning Roland Garros champion already owns the blueprint to construct another deep run at the Australian, ESPN analyst Christopher Eubanks told Tennis Now.
World No. 3 Gauff, arguably the fastest woman in the game, won both of her major titles relying on her speed, stamina, bold backhand and court sense.
Yet, if you watched Gauff play mixed doubles with compatriot Christian Harrison at the United Cup last week, then you saw her display fine front-court skills, including a strong smash and solid volleys.
So what style should the 21-year-old Gauff employ in her aim to reach a maiden Australian Open final this month?
MORE: ESPN 2026 Australian Open TV Schedule
Should the Delray Beach-baseliner play the counterpunching, conservative game she’s displayed winning two Grand Slam titles and the WTA Finals?
Or should Gauff assert her all-court acumen and attack opponents a bit more in Melbourne Park?
We put that question to ESPN analysts Christopher Eubanks and Patrick McEnroe in a Zoom call today to promote the network’s AO coverage.
Eubanks, a good friend and sometime hitting partner of Gauff, said she showed the right answer last week. Eubanks said Gauff should play the AO imposing the stylistic variety she used to defeat former No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 at the United Cup in Sydney last weekend.
“To your point, she can do a little bit of everything. She’s so good at competing and figuring out how she needs to play on the day in order to win a match,” Eubanks told Tennis Now. “But I really like the way she played against Iga. She made a high percentage of first serves.
“She used a lot of variety, used some slow cutters, and then occasionally would pop one, so it kept Iga off balance, and it also kept her first serve percentage high, so she didn’t have to hit a lot of second serves, so I loved that.”
Scoring her fourth consecutive straight-sets win over No. 2 Swiatek, Gauff often deployed an unsettling baseline mix. Gauff hit some high, heavy topspin forehands then stepped inside the baseline at times to laser flatter two-handed backhands to keep Swiatek off balance.
While Gauff’s forehand is not nearly as dangerous as her slashing backhand strikes, Eubanks said the drastically different heights and spins of those disparate strokes can impose a confounding combination for even elite opponents.
“From the ground she was doing a good job of managing her forehand, elevating it up out of the strike zone and then being aggressive on her backhand,” Eubanks told Tennis Now. “So it’s like a little bit of: she gave you one look on the forehand side, totally different look on the backhand side, and then once you get her moving, she’s the best mover in the women’s game she defends so well. So she noticed that she has that to her bag, as well.”
Eubanks said there’s a simple tactical approach Gauff can apply in Melbourne Park: Manage the forehand by hitting it high and out of the opponent’s zone then mash the backhand with flat fury when it’s in her strike zone.
“I love her being aggressive on the backhand when it’s there. If it’s inside the court and she wants to lean into it, she hardly misses it,” Eubanks said. “I think she should go after that backhand as much as possible, manage the forehand if you’re playing someone who wants to try to play it, which most players are going to play it to her forehand more often than not. Manage it, get some elevation on it, and then just get one out of the strike zone and look for your opportunities to be aggressive.
“I don’t think she needs to force her way to be aggressive. I think she’ll get the balls if she uses, kind of like Patrick says, patience, uses her legs, plays a little bit of variety, and then when the ball is there to be aggressive, go ahead and be aggressive.
“That’s the way that I would like to see her play. That’s the way she played against Iga and the way she beat her, and I thought it was a textbook match as to how she should play.”
Gauff has won nine of her last 11 Australian Open matches.
Two years ago, Gauff registered her best AO result reaching the semifinals where she lost to eventual-champion Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(2), 6-4. Last year, Gauff made a run to the quarterfinals bowing to Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-4.
McEnroe says Gauff should adjust her tactics based on the opponent across the net. Former U.S. Davis Cup captain McEnroe said if he were coaching Gauff, he’d advise her to adopt deeper court positioning to give herself more time to generate the bigger backswing she has on the forehand.
Through five singles matches this month, Gauff has served 65 percent with 5 aces against 28 double faults. Obviously, she’d like to reduce the double faults and McEnroe says sustaining the higher first-serve percentage is vital for two years: It helps Gauff establish rhythm in her serve games and diminishes the chances of her having to play a defensive shot after the serve which can in turn impose pressure and mounting double faults.
“She can serve big but that can get her into trouble with her serve, and that’s why I said last year during the French, I was like, just put the serve in. Don’t try to serve big,” McEnroe told Tennis Now. “So she’s got to deal with that, which is hard, because then she can counterpunch and then she can also come forward.
“It’s kind of like finding that right balance. Depending on who she’s playing, also, I think factors into that. She’s got a good problem. She’s got so many weapons in her game both defensively and offensively, so it’s really about finding that mix that she needs.
“But I think that when she plays, gives herself a little more space and a little more time, she’s really tough to beat because she can cover the court so well. So if I were in her camp, I would be like — I actually had told her to be a little more conservative at times. I know she wants to be aggressive. She wants to serve big. But I’m not sure tactically that’s the best way for her to play.”
Ultimately, Gauff’s game is more expansive than she sometimes shows, but at 21 she’s still evolving and has already mastered two majors.
“She’s got a lot of tools in the toolbox, and that’s a pretty good thing to have. That’s why she won two majors already.” McEnroe said.
In all, ESPN touts it will present “more than 260 hours of live coverage” from Melbourne Park.
MORE: ESPN on Brad Gilbert and Pam Shriver Future
Exclusive AO coverage begins on Saturday, January 17th, with first round action beginning live at 7 p.m. on the ESPN App and on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. New in 2026, match coverage continues through the early rounds starting in primetime and ending at 7 a.m.
