Brad Gilbert’s absence from Coco Gauff’s side in the Stuttgart Open has caused a lot of fuss lately. However, Gilbert is not giving up on Gauff just yet. During a podcast, he provided a glimpse of his valuable insights on the young player’s “resolve” and constant will to improve. For the tennis veteran, the young American’s “fiercely driven” nature to work on her game has left Gilbert impressed.
The former coach of Andre Agassi has been with Gauff since 2023. And after almost a year of closely following Gauff’s rise to stardom, he is full of praise for her. “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.”
Gilbert stressed that in tennis, there are new obstacles, successes, and setbacks every day. But Coco Gauff’s maturity and mental toughness are demonstrated by her understanding that what happened today doesn’t dictate tomorrow. He further mentioned how Gauff grinds through matches even when she’s not playing at her best, showing her intense desire to get better and move up the rankings.
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Gilbert even admired Coco Gauff’s off-court personality and appreciated her for leaving no stone unturned when it came to her professional interests. “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,” Gilbert further added. And Gilbert has utilized Gauff’s remarkable skills to push her to the top ranking.
Under the guidance of Gilbert, Gauff has achieved her first Grand Slam title. Not only that, she also achieved her first title in the WTA 1000 category, with Gilbert by her side. However, when he remained missing in her last tournament, speculations arose about whether the coach would be back or not.
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However, waving away the rumors, Gauff stated that before her upcoming big tournaments, she wants Gilbert to take some time off. In place of him, she worked with her former coach, Jean-Cristophe Faurel, during her last tournament. Speaking on rehiring her coach, Gauff provided an insight into previously parting ways with Faurel.
Coco Gauff did not want to stop working with her former coach, Faurel
The World No. 3 initially collaborated with Faurel back when she was only 14 years old. Even when she was making her debut at Wimbledon in 2019, Faurel was there in the coaching box cheering for her. But their professional relationship came to an end in 2020. And referring to that, Gauff provided clarity on the reason behind the decision.“It actually wasn’t either of our choices to stop working together. He was having visa issues and couldn’t get into the U.S. for a long time—a couple years,” Coco Gauff has previously said in an interview.
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However, after over three years, the duo reunited during the Stuttgart Open tournament. And Coco Gauff is excited for their partnership to resume once again. “So once he got that all figured out, it became a perfect opportunity. And the timing worked to be back together. I knew when we had stopped, I always wanted to go back to him when all of that stuff got sorted.”
Although Gauff’s journey stopped in the quarterfinal of the tournament, their collaboration brought a new refreshment to her coaching team. However, alongside this new pair, fans are also hoping to see Gilbert back with Coco Gauff again.