Written by Richard Pagliaro | @Itenisi_Manje | Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Photo credit: Sarah Stier/Getty
The trip is over Coco Gauff-Brad Gilbert the alliance.
2023 US Open champion Gauff and coach Gilbert have split, ending their 14-month relationship.
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“Thank you Coco Gauff and the whole team for a great summer game in 2023 and 14 months of great team effort,” Gilbert wrote on social media. “Coco, you are only 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success in the future.
“I am excited about the next chapter of my Coaching career.”
Thank you 🙏 to @CocoGauff and the whole team for an amazing summer game in 2023 and 14 months of amazing team effort. Coco, you are only 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success. I’m excited for the next…
– Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) September 18, 2024
The split means both coaches guiding Gauff to the 2023 US Open—Gilbert and Pere Riba-retired from the Delray Beach-born ranger. Riba left after Gauff won the US Open and was 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 outlasted Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to capture her first major in front of a huge crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was Gauff’s 12th straight win and came after becoming the youngest woman to win the Cincinnati Open. At age 19, Gauff became the youngest American to win the US Open since her tennis hero, 17-year-old Serena Williams, defeated No. 1 Martina Hingis in the 1999 final. She also joined Serena Williams and Tracy Austin as the third young American woman to win the US Open in the Open Era.
Although Gauff opened the season successfully defending his seventh title in Auckland before making semi-finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, he has struggled in recent weeks.
Since reaching the semifinals in Berlin last June, Gauff has failed to make it past the round of 16 in his last five tournaments, posting a 9-5 record in that span. Partner Emma Navarro knocked out Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open as their opponents advanced to the Gauff western-grip.
America’s flag bearer at the Paris Olympics alongside LeBron James, Gauff fell to Navarro in a tearful Wimbledon loss, fell to Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic at the Olympics, lost to Diana Shnaider in Toronto and he was eliminated from Cincinnati by Yulia Putintseva. last month. Despite those results, Gauff is still ranked 6th in the world.
Days before the 2024 US Open, the Hall of Famer John McEnroe he said he doesn’t believe his ESPN colleague Gilbert was the problem with Gauff’s meltdown.
McEnroe also said that time is on Gauff’s side and he is confident that he has the game and mindset to turn things around.
“Coco is a great player who can see you—you know you just pay attention,” McEnroe said last month. “As far as Brad is concerned, it’s hard to say what will happen. But Brad is one of the best coaches ever.
“He’s had great players. Maybe Brad is an acquired taste to some degree, but you know the people who got his taste, they’ve done really well. I think he should be in the Hall of Fame for his coaching. So I don’t think [coaching] problem. I think if he decides this year he wants to try someone else, he knows that’s his right, he’s the player.
“But last year when he joined Coco there was a big run. He won the Open. I think he did a great job. He’s young. We’ll see what happens. He has a lot of time to figure this out.”
