Prior to the American hard court swing, Coco Gauff was struggling to find her form, having faced a number of initial round defeats in various tournaments. However, the young tennis star’s decision to join hands with her compatriot and tennis coach, Brad Gilbert has been doing wonders for her. Ever since teaming up with the American coach, Gauff has been on a roll during the hard-court season. Under his tutelage, the 19-year-old recently clinched two WTA singles titles as she emerged triumphant at both the Citi Open and Cincinnati Masters.

In the process, the tennis prodigy has outshined some of the big guns including Iga Świątek, Maria Sakkari, and Karolína Muchová. Even at her home Grand Slam event, the young tennis sensation is making headlines as she has now reached the semifinal round of the US Open. Considering the tennis coach’s massive impact on Gauff’s recent success, a renowned sports platform depicted a ‘vexed narrative’ of Gilbert deserving much more credit than the WTA player herself. Taking note of the same, a flurry of fans recently got involved in a bizarre debate on social media.

Fans weigh the argument’s pros and cons amidst the narrative involving Coco Gauff and her new coach

The renowned journalist, Jon Wertheim recently shed light on ESPN’s ‘controversial narrative’ of giving the American tennis coach immense credit for Coco Gauff’s new-found success on the tour. He further sparked a debate on Twitter by bringing to light an email from a well-regarded figure in the tennis community.

It stated, “‘Coco Guff is a great player with enormous upside, irrespective of Brad Gilbert’s coaching. ESPN narrative giving Gilbert so much credit for her wins is shilling of the highest order and should stop now. It’s a conflict of interest.’ Discuss.”

Wertheim’s Tweet received a flurry of mixed reactions from the fans who quickly flocked to the comments section. One of the users argued how men always get an immense amount of credit for a female athlete’s accomplishments in their respective sport.

The user commented, “Men are too often given outsized credit in women’s sports. It’s amplified on ESPN because he’s a colleague and they mean it as a compliment to him. The conflict of interest part is a separate issue and deserves its own thread.”

Another fan candidly spoke in favor of those major assertions condemning ESPN’s ‘vexed narrative’. He said, “If you think Coco doesn’t get praise then you don’t watch tennis”

While lashing out at male tennis coaches, a fan accused them of yelling at their female tennis players from the sidelines. She commented, “I do think he helped and there’s a TON of praise for Coco. There are other coach/commentators, so who cares. I’m more annoyed that he and other male coaches are yelling nonstop and their female players want them to shut up. Let them play! 🤫”

In the comments section, a fan also discussed that there was a similar narrative when the American tennis legend, Andy Roddick, reached the number 1 ranking under Gilbert’s tutelage.

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He said, “They did the exact same thing when Gilbert joined Roddick’s team and got him to number one. Then roddick’s ego got in the way and he fired BG and was never the same player.”

Meanwhile, other users have some contradicting views on the subjects as they asserted that the American coach deserves all the plaudits as his effect in a short time has been significant for Gauff.

A fan said, “Wrong! He deserves 99.99999% of the credit!”

Similarly, according to another fan, Gauff has tremendous on-court prowess, but it is her coach who will take her to the next level. He said, “Brad has credentials, yes Gauff is talented but Brad would take her to the next level!”

Another fan hailed the renowned tennis coach by claiming that he could help Gauff win major titles on the tour. He said, “Gilbert’s affect in a short time has been significant. He results in the last several events show it. She will win several majors.”

Do you think that the American coach deserves all the plaudits for Gauff’s recent victories on the tour? Let us know in the comments section.

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