Maria Sharapova has sage advice for Coco Gauff amid American's split with coach

09/23/2024 05:15 PM

Maria Sharapova thinks Coco Gauff is wise enough not to let coaching changes distract her or affect her in any kind of negative way as the Russian tennis legend tells the 2023 US Open champion that different things will be needed at different parts of her career and that knowing how to listen and trust is really important. 

After falling in one of the lowest points of her career and evidently being very low on confidence and struggling with doubts, the 20-year-old hired coach Brad Gilbert after 2023 Wimbledon. And hiring Andre Agassi's ex-coach instantly turned out to be a game-changer as the American instantly started playing much better and landed her first WTA 1000 and Grand Slam titles.

It should be noted that Gauff also worked with Pere Riba at the time. 

But after having her career-best run during the summer of 2023, this summer was a completely different story after she lost in the Wimbledon, Paris Olympics and US Open round-of-16 and fell from a career-high ranking of No. 2 to sixth-ranked. 

Failing to defend her title at Flushing Meadows and do well there ended up sealing the fate of Gilbert as Gauff's coach as the 20-year-old probably realized that he couldn't help her anymore.

“I think Coco has an amazing head on her shoulders and knows that there will be changes in her team throughout the years. What you need at a certain point in your career is not what you need later in your career. I was very fortunate with the teams that I had. I still remain very close to all of my coaches. They’re such big team members and they carry so much weight. A team is really important. It takes time to build trust and learn from [your team] and accept their advice. But it’s a fun journey.” the former five-time Grand Slam champion told US Weekly.

During her very successful career, Sharapova worked with several well-known names, including Michael Joyce, Jimmy Connors, Sven Groeneveld, Thomas Hogstedt and Riccardo Piatti, who was her last coach.

It remains to be seen when will Gauff find a new coach and who will it be.