Coco Gauff recently parted ways with her coach, Brad Gilbert, under whom she had the most success, and in light of that, former WTA player Maria Sharapova shared some advice.
Gauff had a tremendous summer in 2023, during which she won a couple of trophies, culminating in the US Open triumph. It was a dream run that seemed impossible only a couple of weeks before it happened because she struggled heavily and crashed out of Wimbledon in the opening round.
She later famously described that moment as the lowest point of her career, and not even two months later, she had the highest moment of her career. What happened? She started working with Gilbert, and while that might be overly simplified, pretending that it didn't make an impact would be very dishonest.
Gilbert made a tremendous impact, mostly making Gauff believe that she truly could win. She started to doubt herself in the moments when she began working with him and getting that experienced voice did wonders for her.
Gilbert didn't change much in her game technically, even though some called for it. Her forehand remained the same, and her serve was slightly altered, but overall, Gilbert mostly encouraged her to embrace an attacking style, and it worked.
It didn't work as well this year because the same old problems arose. Her serve broke down at the US Open and cost her the match against Emma Navarro. Her forehand continued to be very inconsistent, and after an unsuccessful summer, Gauff parted ways with Gilbert.
Only time will tell whether it was the right move, but it didn't shock too many analysts or fellow players. Things seemed to have plateaued recently for Gauff, so it was only natural that she made a change.
Sharapova was asked, as a former player, about Gauff during a US Weekly interview, and she had only great things to say about the American.
"I think Coco Gauff has an amazing head on her shoulders and knows that there will be changes in her team throughout the years. What you need at a certain point in your career is not what you need later in your career. I was very fortunate with the teams that I had."
"I still remain very close to all of my coaches. They’re such big team members and they carry so much weight. A team is really important. It takes time to build trust and learn from (one's team) and accept their advice. But it’s a fun journey."
Quite a few people have echoed Sharapova's sentiments, calling for patience with Gauff, her evolution, and whatever comes next. It's not expected that the 20-year-old will hire a new coach immediately, but that she will take her time to figure out what she wants to do.
The season is almost over, and while plenty more events are to be played, Gauff likely won't be making huge changes this year. She would ideally have a team in place for next year because next year will be an important season for her.
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