Coco Gauff was expected to make changes to her team after a difficult summer that included the end of her reign as US Open champion and now confirmation has come that she has parted ways with coach Brad Gilbert.
Gilbert had a hugely positive impact on Gauff after he was integrated into her coaching set-up last year, taking some of the credit for her memorable win at the 2023 US Open.
Yet there have been signs of cracks in the relationship for the last few months, with Gauff venting her annoyance in the direction of her player box and now confirmation of Gilbert’s exit has come.
Thanks to Coco Gauff and the entire team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort,” Gilbert in a message posted on X.
“Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead. I’m excited for the next chapter in my coaching career.”
The news of Gilbert’s exit is no surprise, with many experts suggesting his role as a prominent TV pundit at the US Open was not appropriate while he was still working with Gauff.
He was conducting on-court interviews and providing studio analysis while also advising Gauff, with that conflict of interest not sustainable when results started to turn against the American youngster.
“It’s not the summer that I want,” said Gauff after her US Open exit. “I feel like there’s 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had even though it’s my least probably done well during this time of the year.
“So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to make the Olympics. So many people want to be the flag bearer. It’s perspective.
“Obviously because I’m wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing, but I’m not going to beat myself up and be, like, this was so bad.
“Yeah, I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around.”
Tennis legend McEnroe has given his verdict on what needs to come next for Gauff, as he predicted there may be changes to a team that includes the high-profile presence of coach Brad Gilbert.
“I don’t know about what is going on in her team, but I suspect there will be changes, that’s my guess,” said McEnroe at a Eurosport event.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
Despite her early exit at the US Open, McEnroe believes some of the surprising results this summer have been affected by the addition of the Olympic Games into the middle of the tennis season.
“You can see that all the players who were at the Olympics are struggling physically and mentally,” he reflected.
“It’s tough to go from clay to grass, back to clay for the Olympics and then straight onto the hard courts. That’s not easy.
“You look at all the guys that won the medals at the Olympics and they lost early at the US Open, especially in the men’s draw.”
McEnroe went on to suggest Gauff’s high-profile presence in commercial adverts ahead of the US Open could have affected her preparations, as he urged the 20-year-old to ensure she keeps her eye on the court.
“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,” he added. “You can tell she’s not feeling that right now.”
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