Coco Gauff and Brad Gilbert have parted ways after 14 months of successful partnership. Gauff won her first Grand Slam at the 2023 US Open and three more WTA titles under the coaching of Brad Gilbert. They also reached the semifinals of the French Open and the Australian Open this year. Gilbert did a lot for Gauff’s game, but what he did most was make her believe. However, from the outside, it looked like they’d both hit the ceiling they could reach working with each other. It was a successful partnership but also one that towards the last couple of months felt a little maxed out.
This Change looked Inevitable
This does not come as a surprise as it seemed like things stopped clicking this summer between the two. This announcement coming before the end of 2024 has felt inevitable. The dynamic between them on the court just seemed completely off. Gauff was asking the questions and wasn’t getting the answers she was looking for. They were not communicating well since the Wimbledon loss. Their 2023 U.S. summer run was incredible but things have slowly been downhill since then and ultimately crashed with 19 double faults at this year’s US Open.
Gauff isn’t doing badly, but it doesn’t look like any part of her game is improving either. She looks extremely stressed and anxious on court all the time these days like she’s never enjoying herself. No big titles this year are disappointing for her standards. She’ll surely win matches on her athleticism and talent, but against the top players, the technical flaws are going to hurt her. Gauff’s performance on serve, forehand, and her mentality on the court are major problems she needs to fix.
It’s hard to change something you’ve done forever but she’s only 20, even a full year of bad results is more than worth it if she can fix the forehand wing. Brad Gilbert was more of a tactical coach, and the common consensus seems to be she should be looking towards a technical coach. Whoever she works with next needs to put a solid team together to rework the forehand and serve, and turn them into reliable weapons instead of things she has to cover up. Coco Gauff is by her own admission, very stubborn and intense. And maybe she needs someone with a strong understanding of clean, basic techniques.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
