American tennis icon Serena Williams said Coco Gauff’s serve “could definitely be better”, but said her compatriot does not need to tweak her forehand, stressing “confidence” is the key to success. Coco Gauff’s US Open title defence came to an end with a 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 loss to world number 12 Emma Navarro in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.

The 20-year-old star was hampered by issues with her serve throughout the match, completing just 46% of her first serves and committing 19 double faults. Meanwhile, the young American’s forehand is a shot that some analysts have identified as a weakness that she needs to improve on throughout her career so far.

During the world No. 3’s loss to Navarro, Williams was asked if Gauff needed to make any technical changes to her serve or forehand. “ I feel like she has a good serve ,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion said. “ I think it can obviously be better, but I feel like she’s still young. She has the rest of her career to get better.”

I wouldn’t change anything about her forehand. I’ve seen a lot of great forehands. And listen, if you’re just confident in whatever you have, go ahead and be confident about it. Literally, all she needs to do is have confidence, whether she’s hitting it with her wrist or her elbow. Just have the confidence to do it.”

The former world No. 1 was also full of praise for Navarro’s game and expressed particular admiration for the 22-year-old American’s versatility. “ I love the versatility of Emma’s game ,” said Williams. “ I’ve never been a versatile player, so whenever I see someone like her chopping or having a lot of forehands, I really admire that because that’s something I’ve never really done. She can come in and she has great hands. She just does everything so well. She has a very high tennis IQ and I love that.”