“There is only one Serena Williams” – American legend’s ex-coach responds to Coco Gauff being called the ‘next Serena’, reveals more accurate parallel

Coco Gauff comparisons with Serena Williams elicits reply from her ex-coach | Image Source: Getty

Serena Williams’ former coach Rick Macci recently touched upon comparisons between his former ward and Coco Gauff. The veteran coach believes that although the 23-time Major winner is exemplary as an athlete, she still has many things in common with seven-time Major winner Venus Williams.

The Williams sisters trained under Macci in the early 1990s when they were based in Compton. Since working with them, the USTPA-approved has moved onto newer pastures by offering his services to former World No. 1’s like Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, and Jennifer Capriati.

Earlier on Saturday (June 14), Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rick Macci took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to give his two cents on Coco Gauff following the American’s French Open triumph last Sunday. The 70-year-old claimed that there were far more commonalities between the World No. 2 and Venus Williams, as both players had a “bullet backhand” among other weapons in their respective arsenal.

“Was asked if Coco is like the next Serena. There is only one Serena. But she has more common threads like Venus. Gazelle fast. Lightning quick. Loose wires. Burning Rage. Whippy forehand. Bullet backhand. And the most common Thread a Champions Head. @CocoGauff @Venuseswilliams,” Serena Williams’ former coach wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

For those unaware, Macci has taken on the much talked about comparisons between Williams and Gauff in the past as well.

Rick Macci on the one quality that Serena Williams, Venus Williams & Coco Gauff share

Coco Gauff and Venus Williams during a practice at French Open 2021 | Image Source: Getty

Last November, Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rick Macci insisted on X (formerly Twitter) that Coco Gauff would have to pave her own path in tennis while swatting aside comparisons with the Williams sisters. However, he did concede that all three players were equally good at handling pressure during important moments of a match.

“Asked if Coco is the next Venus or Serena. There is only one Venus. Only one Serena,” Rick Macci wrote on X in November 2024. “But the Same Thread all 3 share and the most important Thread is how the Thread stabilizes under pressure and all 3 are cut from the same Cloth. @CocoGauff @Venuseswilliams @serenawilliams.”

More recently, Macci had heaped rich praise on Gauff for her physical conditioning, which he attributed to her superior family genes.

“Her family genetics is off the charts and many just do not understand. Her little bro even makes her look slow! She has so many gifts you cannot teach. She has the daily double as Coco has a backbone made of Granite and she is the best WTA athlete on the Planet,” Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rick Macci wrote on his X account last month.

Coco Gauff, meanwhile, will play at the Berlin Ladies Open next week as Wimbledon looms in July.