Coco Gauff survived a pretty tough first match at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and it was without her coach, Brad Gilbert.
The 20-year-old traveled to Europe early as she had some commitments with Rolex, after which she went to Stuttgart. She arrived with her dad but not her coach, Brad Gilbert, who won’t be present this week at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The veteran coach generally travels with Gauff, but won’t be joining her this time around, as he’ll arrive in Madrid for the Madrid Open. After her win over Sachia Vickery, Gauff explained her coach’s absence.
“Yeah, he’s supposed to come to Madrid. He’s not here. I think when I started with him, he was never going to be coming to every tournament. Just mainly the big ones, especially in the European part of the swing, I think, most of the time. We started in the U.S. swing, so it was a lot easier for him to travel. Even in Australia he wasn’t in Auckland. He came to Australia. It always was supposed to be like that.”
Gauff generally plays mostly the big events, not participating in many WTA 250 tournaments, as even this one in Stuttgart is a WTA 500 event, but Gilbert isn’t the youngest anymore, so he’ll pick and choose his spots when to be present.
He’s in constant communication with Gauff to make his absence felt less. The American has also added another coach to her team, Jean-Christophe Faurel, who should be present with her at most events, so she’ll have someone present regardless of where she plays.
“I added J.C. to the team, which I started with him when I was, like, 14 and we ended because he had visa issues so it was neither of our choices. I thought we were working together well and the timing worked out. Yeah, that’s the situation for now.”
“He’s supposed to come to Madrid, and then, yeah, that’s how it is (smiling). I’m really happy with it. I think I found the team that I really like right now, and hopefully it can last long term.”
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