By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty
The journey is over for Coco Gauff-Brad Gilbert alliance.
2023 US Open champion Gauff and coach Gilbert have parted company, ending their 14-month partnership.
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“Thank you Coco Gauff and the whole team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort,” Gilbert posted on social media. “Coco, only 20 years young, your future is extremely bright and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead.
“I am excited for the next chapter in my coaching career.”
Thank you 🙏 for @CocoGauff and all the team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort. Coco, at only 20 years old, your future is extremely bright and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead. I am excited for the future…
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) September 18, 2024
The split marks both coaches who led Gauff to the 2023 US Open—Gilbert and Pere Riba– are no longer working with the base line born in Delray Beach. Riba left shortly after Gauff won the US Open and has been coaching Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen.
thank you @bgtennisnation ! We had an amazing run and I wish you all the best in the future! pic.twitter.com/5A2pzJjHUB
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) September 18, 2024
At the 2023 US Open, Gauff rallied past Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to capture her first major in front of a wild crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was Gauff’s 12th straight victory and came as she became the youngest woman to win the Cincinnati Open. At 19, Gauff became the youngest American to win the US Open since her tennis hero, a 17-year-old Serena Williams, beat world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the 1999 final. She also joined Serena Williams and Tracy Austin as the third teenage American woman to win the US Open in the Open Era.
Although Gauff opened the season successfully by defending Auckland for her seventh title before semi-finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, she has been reeling in recent weeks.
Since reaching the semifinals in Berlin last June, Gauff has failed to survive the round of 16 in her last five tournaments, posting a 9-5 record in that span. Compatriot Emma Navarro knocked Gauff out of the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open after opponents hit Gauff’s forehand.
The American flag bearer at the Paris Olympics alongside LeBron James, Gauff was knocked out by Navarro in a tearful loss at Wimbledon, fell to Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic in the Olympics, lost to Diana Shnaider in Toronto and was bounced from Cincinnati by Yulia Putintseva. last month. Despite these results, Gauff is still ranked sixth in the world.
Days before the 2024 US Open, Hall of Famer John McEnroe said he didn’t believe his ESPN colleague Gilbert was the problem with Gauff’s downfall.
McEnroe also said time is on Gauff’s side and he’s confident she has the game and the mind to turn things around.
“Coco is a great player who can figure it out – you know just pay attention,” McEnroe said last month. “As far as Brad is concerned, it’s hard to say what’s going to happen. But Brad is one of the best coaches around.
“He’s been around some great players. Maybe Brad is an acquired taste to some extent, but you know the people who have acquired his taste, they’ve done very well. I think he should be in the Hall of Fame for his training, personally. So I don’t think (training) is the problem, I think if she decides in a year that she wants to try somebody else, you know that’s her right, she’s the player .
“But last year when he joined forces with Coco there was a big breakthrough. She won the Open. I think he’s done a great job. She’s young. We’ll see what happens. She has plenty of time to understand this.”
