Coco Gauff confirms grip changes in the works with new coach Matt Daly in Wuhan

WUHAN, China—Coco Gauff confirmed speculation that she and new coach Matt Daly will experiment with grip changes, revealing she has been employing them on court since their partnership began ahead of the China Open.

“I don't want to give too much of what's going on, but there are changes happening,” she said coyly after a 61-minute victory over Marta Kostyuk at the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open—the Beijing champion increasing her win streak to eight in a row.

Eager to learn more about the former world No. 2’s new coach, eagle-eyed fans sourced Daly’s “GripMD” biography, along with the note that University of Notre Dame alum had made grip changes to “multiple Top 100 ATP player.”

“Yeah, I saw they found that,” said the ever-online Gauff, who dropped just five games against Kostyuk on Thursday. “He has a lot of expertise in that area. Honestly, not just that. He does really good at tactical stuff, mental side, too. But yeah, Matt is great. We're changing stuff.”

I don’t want to give too much of what’s going on, but there are changes happening. I’ve been playing with them…since Beijing. I’m very open. He has a lot of expertise in that area. Coco Gauff on her work with coach Matt Daly

Gauff first discussed a desire for change after ending a successful 14-month stint with coach Brad Gilbert, with whom she won four titles and her first major trophy at the US Open. Struggles on serve had developed earlier this spring and came back to haunt her last month in Flushing when her US Open title defense ended in the fourth round with 19 double faults against Emma Navarro.

The 20-year-old has made the serve her primary focus with Daly, stabilizing the shot through a winning week in Beijing—her first title since the ASB Classic in January—and a strong start in Wuhan, where she’s impressively battled through fatigue to roar into the last eight without dropping a set.

While the quick study is open to tweaking her natural grip, Gauff clarified she isn’t looking to emulate any player in particular, aiming instead to maximize the game she already has.

“I know people who don't really play tennis think there's a right way to hold the racquet…but if you look at all the people playing on tour, we all hold the racquets differently,” she said.

“Everybody has their own comfort zone. There's no right way to do it. You have to do what's comfortable. There's not exact centimeter that you can be like, ‘Yeah, this is the right way for everybody to hold the racquet because everybody hits different,’ just there's no perfect swing.

“Roger, Novak, Rafa, Big Three, they all hit the ball completely different from each other. It just shows there's no right way to play tennis. At the end of the day you just have to enhance what you do.”

The American will next face frequent practice partner Magda Linette—who hails from Poland but, like Gauff, is based in South Florida—for a spot in the semifinals.