Coco Gauff is currently working with Brad Gilbert, and it's been a great move for her as she climbed to new heights under him.
The way the teenage American started to work with Brad Gilbert was rather interesting. She hired Pere Ribe over the summer of 2023, after struggling to find her game even under Patrick Mouratoglou.
The Frenchman worked with her during the Roland Garros stretch, but it didn't really work out. Shen then hired Riba but crashed out early at Wimbledon, causing the team to consider possibly bringing in some more help.
Brad Gilbert was one of the names mentioned, but it almost never happened. Speaking to Vogue Magazine, Gauff admitted that she initially wanted to reject Gilbert and explained why.
"I know that sounds so wrong. In a way I don’t mind meeting new people on a surface level. But your coach will eventually know everything about you. You spend more time with them than you do your family."
"And also, he was an older guy. I didn’t know how I’d get along with someone in their 60s. But he’s actually pretty hip and pretty young in some ways. So it ended up being a good decision, obviously."
Many storylines immediately pop up about what might have happened if Gauff hadn't started working with Gilbert. It's possible that she would have had a similar trajectory, but considering how much of an influence he proved to be in a short time, it's not likely that things would have happened the way they did.
He's actually one of the best coaches in the world, with a lot of experience. He knew exactly how to bring a little joy into Gauff's tennis career. Due to her perfectionist ways, she was taking things pretty seriously, and he made her relax a bit.
"He’s a great guy with a lot of knowledge, but when you meet him, he’ll say a joke out of nowhere or say something that’s funny. You’re visibly pissed, and you’ve had a bad practice, and he’ll say something and you’re not pissed anymore. Life is never ever that serious, at least not on the tennis court. On the tennis court it’s never ever that serious. I think I’ve just learned that from observing him."
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