The 2024 French Open was a strange tournament in many ways. While controversies were a common feature during the course of the event, the climatic conditions also came as a surprise. The first half of the tournament saw cloudy and rainy weather while the second half was a lot warmer, with the sun shining brightly. This eventually had an effect on the clay courts, which got worn out toward the business end of the tournament. With the Wimbledon Championships coming up in a few days, the legendary coach of Coco Gauff, Brad Gilbert, can foresee a similar problem with the grass courts.
According to the weather forecast, the climatic conditions at Wimbledon could see a mix of sunny and cloudy weather, with occasional rain. As a result, there is a large difference between the minimum and the maximum temperatures, which is not ideal for the grass courts as they get worn out easily.
Gilbert took to social media to point out this problem. Sharing his thoughts via his official Twitter handle, Gilbert mentioned, “If it really warm during the tournament courts get worn out a bit faster especially behind the baseline, they will play bit higher bouncing as well.”
As the grass cover gets worn out as the tournament progresses, the ball starts bouncing more, which could result in difficulty for the players with this variable bounce. Over the years, there have been patches that develop near the baseline which are devoid of grass cover. This has made the players’ lives difficult as shot-making has been affected. Despite these problems, Brad Gilbert has full confidence that Gauff will dig deep at Wimbledon.
Brad Gilbert lauds the special quality of Coco Gauff
Ever since Gilbert joined Gauff’s team, the American sensation has had an upward trajectory. The legendary coach has left a big impact on Gauff’s performances and he was full of praise for her one-in-million quality.
During a podcast earlier this year, Gilbert mentioned that Gauff’s ‘fiercely driven’ nature to work on her game made her stand out from the rest. Additionally, he went on to say, “Coco has a lot of resolve for a young player. And she’s learning how you know, what happened today doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen tomorrow. She’s a great kid. She literally has no shortage of doing what she needs to do to put in the hard yards to get better.”
With the Paris Olympics in sight, a good performance at Wimbledon will significantly raise her confidence level. It’ll be interesting to see if Gauff can win her maiden Wimbledon title this year.