MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — It was a meaningless hit-and-giggle session, a mixed doubles exhibition at Rod Laver Arena just for fun and charity in front of fans a few days ahead of the Australian Open, so Coco Gauff was calling out how fast she would try to hit some serves.
Her guesses, and her deliveries, kept getting closer to 200 kph (125 mph) on Thursday evening, and when the 2023 U.S. Open champion and her partner, Andrey Rublev, had taken that game, one of their opponents, Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt, acknowledged, “Great serving.” Gauff’s response? “Thanks. I’ve been working on it.”
Yes, she has — on her serving and her forehand — and the strides made in both of those areas are among the reasons Gauff is considered one of the few women ready to challenge two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at Melbourne Park when the year’s first Grand Slam tournament begins Sunday (Saturday EST).
