The coaching relationship between Coco Gauff and Brad Gilbert is over after a little more than a year. Gilbert announced the end of the pair’s working relationship on Wednesday via a post on his official X, formerly Twitter, account.
“Thanks to Coco Gauff and the entire team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort,” he wrote. “Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead.”
Gauff famously hired Gilbert, previously the coach of Grand Slam winners Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick, last summer as a co-coach with Spain’s Pere Riba, and went on a torrid run shortly after that included victories in Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, and at the US Open — where she became the youngest American woman to win her home major since Serena Williams 25 years earlier.
Riba departed Gauff’s team last fall, and Gilbert was her head coach solo until Gauff shored up her team ahead of the clay-court season with former coach Jean-Cristophe Faurel.
Gauff reached a career-high ranking of World No.2 in June and also won her first career Grand Slam doubles title at Roland Garros with Katerina Siniakova, after reaching her seventh career Hologic WTA Tour singles title in Auckland, New Zealand in January.
After losing in the semifinals of Roland Garros to Iga Swiatek, and in that same round in Berlin to Jessica Pegula, Gauff lost before the quarterfinals in her next five tournaments. She failed to medal at the Paris Olympics, where she was U.S. flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony, despite playing in three events, and lost in the Round of 16 at both Wimbledon and the US Open to fellow American Emma Navarro. In the latter three-set defeat in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Gauff hit 19 double faults and 60 unforced errors.
“It’s not the summer that I want,” Gauff said after seeing her New York title defense end. “I feel like there [are] 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had. … So many people want to be in the fourth round. So many people want to make the Olympics. So many people want to be flag bearer. It’s perspective.
“Obviously because I’m wanting to reach a different level, it is disappointing, but I’m not going to beat myself up and be, like, this was so bad. I expect better, but at the end of the day it happened, and I know I can turn it around.”
Gauff, now ranked No.6, in entered in both WTA 1000 events in China in the coming weeks, beginning with the China Open in Beijing that begins on Sept. 25.