Brad Gilbert addresses calls to ‘fix’ Coco Gauff’s forehand as he reveals his one coaching regret

Brad Gilbert and Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff’s coach Brad Gilbert has revealed he was bombarded with texts calling for him to “fix” the American star’s forehand and grip after he started working with her.

The coaching great asserted it is more difficult for players to make technical changes than many realise as he declared “not everybody” can frequently make adjustments like Rafael Nadal or Andre Agassi.

Gilbert, who coached American legends Agassi and Andy Roddick to major titles and the world No 1 ranking, has helped Gauff reach new heights since joining her team ahead of the Citi Open in Washington last year.

Gauff won the Citi Open without dropping a set, before adding her first WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati and her maiden Grand Slam crown at the 2023 US Open in September.

The 20-year-old American, who started her 2024 season by defending her title in Auckland, is currently at a career-high WTA ranking of world No 3.

Gauff has also achieved semi-final results at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells this year — either side of an opening round exit in Doha and a quarter-final run in Dubai in February.

Despite Gauff’s success, the US Open champion’s forehand continues to be highlighted by some analysts as an area that must improve. Gilbert has expressed, though, that he feels it is more important for Gauff to focus on playing to her strengths than trying to change the shot.

During a conversation with 2003 US Open winner Roddick on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Gilbert addressed the criticism of Gauff’s forehand.

“I think, more importantly, at any age, especially when you’re young, it’s more about understanding what your goals are to get better,” the American told Roddick, who he coached between 2003 and 2004.

“It’s too easy to say I want to win x, y, z. Everybody does, but there’s parts of her game that she definitely needs to work with. I’ve never got so many texts in my life as I got once I started coaching her that instantly everything is about, ‘Fix your forehand. Fix your grip.’

“I think sometimes people think and even club players think it’s so easy to fix something like that. And my first thought is, what happens if you fix it and it doesn’t get better? What happens if you make a change and it doesn’t get better?

“And then when you change the grip, you have to completely change the arc of a swing. What does that do to the arm? So, there’s more factors in making a change.

“And probably more than anything, mentally, it’s not as easy as people think, because they think, ‘You’re a pro. Boom, you can do that.’

“Not everybody is like Rafa that can make changes all the time. Andre was another one that liked to tinker all the time, but not all players are like that.”

The 62-year-old, who has helped players win eight Grand Slam titles as a coach, also revealed that not guiding a player to win Wimbledon is his one regret.

“To be honest with you, I have one coaching regret. That I’ve been in the final weekend as a coach numerous times at Wimbledon and never come away with winning that tournament,” Gilbert explained.

“I started thinking that it was probably time [to return to coaching]. I’d like to get back in the mix, but I wanted to get back in the mix that potentially could be in the final weekend. And somebody that was young enough that I could help get to that level.

“Wimbledon 2023. There was a guy player that I got some interest from his agent that happened to text me. And then after Coco lost first round to [Sofia] Kenin I happened to be in the green room talking to Mary Joe Fernandez whose husband represents Coco.

“So I started telling her the few things that I saw that could quickly change Coco’s course of where she was going.

“Which led to Saturday morning when I was getting ready to go to the courts, I got a text from Alessandro, which is Coco’s agent — would I take a meeting with Coco and her family about some of the things I saw? So I took the meeting.”

Gauff is set to feature at the 2024 Miami Open, where play in the main draw of the women’s event begins on Tuesday. The No 3 seed will face either Nadia Podoroska or Ashlyn Krueger in her opening match.