Serena Williams' ex-coach makes bold prediction about Coco Gauff's 2026 season

Serena Williams' ex-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has issued a bold take with respect to how Coco Gauff will perform in 2026. The young American captured her second Major title at the French Open in 2025, nearly two years following her maiden triumph at the US Open.

With the 2026 season almost set to begin, Mouratoglou shared a list of predictions that he would love to see unfold in 2026 on his social media accounts. One of them was Gauff adding more Major titles to her resume.

"What I would love to see in 2026 is Coco Gauff winning another Grand Slam. She's won already two. She's extremely young still and I feel she can start to do more. She can start to win two, three per year. That's always been a goal for her to really win a lot of Grand Slams," Mouratoglou said.

Mouratoglou acknowledged the holes in Gauff's game, though he's well aware that she's fighting hard to address them. He also wanted her to challenge Aryna Sabalenka for the No. 1 spot, along with the rest of her peers.

"I think there are some areas in her game that need to progress. Even her strengths can be better. I know she's working hard. So, I know the progress will be made. We want to see Coco compete to win those grand slams. And why not uh you know fight for the number one spot with Aryna, fight with Rybakina, with Anisimova, with Swiatek, you know all those girls are close. Of course, for the moment Aryna is number one without any doubt," Mouratoglou continued.

Mouratoglou further commented that if Gauff cleans up the deficiencies in her game, then she would be unstoppable. She could even win multiple Majors in the same year.

"I really feel that Coco has a place there. She has a spot. She has the level. There are a few things that need to be improved in her game. And if she makes those improvement, she can win one or several grand slams next year. And this is what I want to see for her in 2026," Mouratoglou concluded.

Gauff trained at Mouratoglou's academy for a while when she was 10 years old. The Frenchman was still coaching Serena Williams at the time. However, he has maintained a steady interest in Gauff's career ever since. The latter is already in Australia to kick off the new season.

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Coco Gauff bidding to claim her third Major title at the Australian Open 2026

Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals 2025. (Photo: Getty)

The United Cup 2026 will be Coco Gauff's first tournament of the new season. As part of Team USA, she's the defending champion. She will play her first singles match on Saturday, January 3, against Solana Sierra of Argentina.

Following her United Cup campaign, Gauff will take part in the Australian Open. A semifinal showing in 2024 remains her best result Down Under so far. She made the quarterfinals in 2025.

Gauff will be the third seed at this year's Australian Open, and could run into either Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, who will be the top two seeds. Sabalenka has won two of the past three editions of the tournament, while Swiatek reached the semifinals in 2025.

Edited by Rohit