Coco Gauff‘s Paris Olympics disappointment seemed to be reflected in her hard court participation as well. The young American said, “I question whether I should have played (in Toronto) or not, but I wanted to test myself,” . Fans have shared their concern about her defeat, but they have now decided to take down her coach, Brad Gilbert, as well.

Gauff’s defeat at the Canadian Open marks a disappointing turn in her journey toward defending her US Open title. The 20-year-old faced a defeat against the 14th-seeded Diana Shnaider with a score of 6-4, 6-1. This match highlighted some areas of concern as Gauff approaches the US Open, which is less than a month away.

Gauff was seen struggling to find her rhythm on the court while facing a determined opponent and tricky windy conditions at Sobeys Stadium. After the setback, she was quick enough to acknowledge her shortcomings, saying, “I just wasn’t finding my timing well. I had a lot of unforced errors and a lot of double faults. She played steady, and she didn’t give me any free points.“

Gauff’s loss in Toronto comes on the heels of a tough exit at the Paris Olympics where she lost to Donna Vekic, a player who isn’t even in the top 20. Fans of the young tennis star were eagerly anticipating a medal, considering her No. 2 world ranking and the recent win at the French Open. Remembering how she left the Paris Olympics arena in tears, Gauff said, “It does inspire me and just also it puts perspective to my age. A lot of them are 24, between 24 to 27 range. I think I just learned to trust in my training and trust in the journey.”

Even though Gauff seems to have learned a lesson, her US Open title defense seems to be in an area of danger. The 20-year-old herself expressed some doubts, mentioning, “I question whether I should have played (in Toronto) or not, but I wanted to test myself. I didn’t have high expectations, but I wish I could have competed better today, even if it resulted in a loss. I don’t think I competed well.”

Although her side of the story seems to be relevant, fans have now started to raise doubts against Brad Gilbert, the mentor who has been by the young champ’s side for a notable period.

Coco Gauff fans not “surprised” as they demand Brad Gilbert’s dismissal

As soon as Gauff was defeated, fans were relentless. Discussions were initiated among the spectators to find out what could be a possible reason behind the young champ’s consistent decline. As everyone agreed to the fact that the 20-year-old was making consistent efforts, things started to fall on the shoulders of Brad Gilbert and his guidance.

A fan, questioning about the duration of Gilbert’s presence alongside Gauff, wrote, “Has Brad Gilbert worn out his welcome?” It has been more than a year since the two are navigating the line of competition together. Although Gauff has won notable titles during the period, there still are flaws surrounding her form.

Another fan, already predicting a depressing outcome at the US Open, wrote, “Depending on how she does at US Open, I wouldn’t be surprised if she fires Brad Gilbert.” It has been a while since Holger Rune split with his coach Patrick Mouratoglou due to similar concerns. Will the tennis world have another separation soon from Gauff?

A fan despised Gauff for her recent performances at the Paris Olympics and in Toronto as well. “Wow this did not age well Coco Gauff absolutely humiliated herself double-faulting on break point in second set and losing when her opponent hit only six groundstroke winners after total collapse at Olympics,” a fan wrote, raising doubts regarding her future in the ongoing North American hard court swing. Gauff has faced trouble with her serve for a while now. She took guidance from Andy Roddick to improve her serve, and we saw improvement for some time, but it is back to being troublesome.

The discussion started becoming direct as suggestions from the fans started turning into demands. “FIRE BRAD GILBERT HOW MUCH LONGER ARE WE GONNA SUFFER,” a fan wrote, clearly urging to see a fresh face besides Gauff ahead of her journey as a rising star with both 1 singles and doubles grand slam already earned. When Gauff experienced success in the 2023 US Open, she had Pere Riba in her team as well. Was he the reason for her success?

There were many who even doubted the presence of Gilbert. “Where is BRAD GILBERT?????????” a fan questioned, pointing at Gauff’s performance which seemed to be out of track. Even after the surface was her forte, the 20-year-old couldn’t extend her run long enough.

With these and several other comments falling in a similar line, the fans put Gilbert under fire for Gauff’s declining performance graph. Although they somehow managed to digest the Paris Olympics loss considering it was her first-ever exposure, it wouldn’t be easy for the spectators to let go of the home grand slam should she fail to defend her title.