Issues Arising: Coco Gauff and Coach Brad Gilbert Call It Quits After U.S. Open Title Defense Falls Short and Gauff’s Plans is to…
Coco Gauff split from coach Brad Gilbert after more than a year and one Grand Slam title together, the pair announced via separate messages on social media.
The end of their partnership comes several weeks after Gauff’s defence of her 2023 championship at the U.S. Open unraveled amid 19 double-faults during a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
That September 1 loss was the latest in a series of disappointing results in recent months for Gauff, a 20-year-old American who recently dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in the WTA rankings.
It was after a first-round exit at Wimbledon last season that Gauff really took off with the help of the coaching duo of Gilbert and Pere Riba. Riba wasn’t with her this year.
Gauff went 22-1 during a stretch in 2023 that included trophies at Washington, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open — her first at a major tournament — all while still a teenager.
Thank-you messages
Gilbert posted a thank-you Wednesday on social media to Gauff “and the entire team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort.”
“Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead,” wrote Gilbert, a former pro who has worked with players such as Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick in the past. “I’m excited for the next chapter in my coaching career.”
In her message Wednesday, Gauff thanked Gilbert and added: “We had an incredible run and I wish you all the best in the future!”
Their tenure also included semifinal appearances by Gauff at the Australian Open this January and French Open this June — losing to the eventual champions at both.
At Wimbledon in July, Gauff departed in the fourth round — also against Navarro — and there were some mid-match back-and-forths between Gauff and Gilbert at Centre Court over what an alternate game plan might be.
“I felt like I wanted more direction,” Gauff said after that match.
She exited in the third round of singles at the Paris Olympics after being the female flag bearer for the U.S. team. Gauff then bowed out in women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Summer Games with a couple of losses on the same day in her second matches in both of those events.
After moving from the red clay there to the hard courts, Gauff went 1-2 at Toronto and the Cincinnati Open in the lead-up to returning to the U.S. Open as the reigning champion.
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John McEnroe rips into Coco Gauff and rants ‘give me a break’ as he spells out problems
Coco Gauff has been laid into by tennis legend John McEnroe who has criticised the American for her on-court attitude, as well as her off-court endorsements
John McEnroe has torn into Coco Gauff – suggesting her “commercials” and brand deals could be affecting her tennis performance.
The former US Open champion was knocked out in the fourth round of the competition this year, showing clear signs of frustration as she made 19 double faults and a total of 60 unforced errors in the match against Emma Navarro. This followed a disappointing performance during the Paris Olympics this summer where she reached the third round before crashing out against Donna Vekic.
Now, McEnroe is calling for change. And the seven-time Grand Slam winner believes Gauff should first reassess her team.
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Before her impressive run last summer, she began working with Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert – a decision that proved beneficial for the 20-year-old American. However, Riba has since left the team, reports the Express.
“I don’t know about what is going on in her team, but I suspect there will be changes, that’s my guess,” McEnroe commented. “When she made the change last year and brought in Brad, it spurred her on and she had this great run in the hard court season.”
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He added: “Now it’s a year later and I don’t know what has happened. She is still having issues with her serve, she is still having issues with her forehand.”
The retired former world No. 1 also dismissed suggestions that Gauff could easily follow in Serena Williams’ footsteps. He explained: “She seems to be more outwardly frustrated on the court and venting more than I’ve seen before. I guess that’s just the pressure of expectations.
“People are just saying, ‘Oh, go and follow in the footsteps of Serena Williams.’ You are like, ‘Oh really, that will be easy.’ Give me a break.”
The legend weighed in on Gauff’s recent struggles, suggesting her off-court commitments such as lucrative endorsements could be impacting her performance. He said: “I’ve noticed she has been on a lot of commercials as well, so they’ve got to balance that with giving her time to work on her game and feel super confident again.”
Gauff stated how she is aware of the need to focus on her game following her US Open defeat to Emma Navarro, saying: “I don’t know what my schedule will look like at the end of this year. I feel like I want to spend a good training block. I hadn’t had that since maybe before the clay season started.”
She added: Yeah, I think we’ll see how Asia goes, and we’ll see – obviously if I qualify [for the WTA Finals], I’ll play. I think for me in the long-term I definitely want to get a good training block, and I guess we’ll see how many tournaments I play for the rest of the year.”
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