Coco Gauff was seen practicing under the watchful eye of Brad Gilbert in the lead-up to this week's Citi Open in Washington.
Gilbert, who currently plies his trade as a tennis analyst, has in the past worked with former ATP number ones such as Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray. The 61-year-old Californian guided both Agassi (6) and Roddick (1) to Grand Slam title wins under his tutelage.
And now Gilbert appears to have answered Gauff's call about joining her coaching team during the North American hard-court swing, which begins in earnest at the WTA event in Washington on Monday. The general consensus is that Gauff's forehand needs massive refinement, and tennis fans backed the celebrated former player to improve it.
Gauff's partnership with Argentinean coach Diego Moyano ended in April due to personal reasons. Her father assumed the role of the primary coach until she hired former Spanish world number 65 Pere Riba during the grass swing as her right-hand man. In her Citi Open presser, Gauff acknowledged the addition of Gilbert as part of the team, although it was not clear for how long.
"Yeah, it's something that I'm literally just starting. And, you know, I'm really open to learning from the game and learning from people and getting different perspectives, so I think that it will help me. You know, my team I think have done a good job communicating amongst themselves before they bring anything to me. So I really feel we're all on one page and one accord."
Gauff has won one title this season, in the opening week of 2023 in Auckland. She hasn't been to any other final since, and lost at the quarter-finals and semifinals stage frequently this year. With Gilbert's services, Gauff believes his experience will help her in the pressure-filled moments.
"Yeah, I think having someone with a little bit more experience will help me like for the pressure moments, the semifinals, finals, quarterfinals. Those moments that I still think I need to get better at."
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