Behind the Scenes: Gauff's New Team Makes All The Difference According To Cahill

| by Sebastian Dahlman

Coco Gauff is a Grand Slam champion, and according to coach Darren Cahill, her new team played a vital part in her success.

As the player who goes out and plays the sport, most of the credit for winning the US Open still belongs to Gauff. Even so, some of that credit also goes out to her team because they transformed her season from a 'failure' after the shocking Wimbledon exit to a success story with the recent US Open run.

Gauff started working with Pere Riba before Wimbledon, and while she praised his efforts, he did lack a bit of experience. Coaching is something that he's been only doing for a few years, so the inclusion of veteran coach Brad Gilbert as an advisor prior to the US Open stretch isn't surprising.

Gauff raved about his input, explaining how it made her more focused and serious, and noted coach Darren Cahill agrees with that. Speaking on the Advantage Connors Podcast, Cahill highlighted the influence of Gilbert.

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He's making sure she is walking and playing to her best more often. And as you know, a lot of good coaching comes from selling belief and giving that player belief to firstly see that they could just care about them, that they believe in them and they are willing to do whatever it takes to let them become a better tennis player.

And Brad is certainly of that nature. Whenever you speak to him, it's pretty hard not to put a smile on your face and get on to the court and work your back side off, because that's what he does, he makes tennis fun. 

The new setup worked wonderfully for Gauff. She's won three trophies so far and is in a great position to add a few more before the year's end. She's 18-1 since Gilbert joined her team and is on an active 12-match winning streak right now.

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