Coco Gauff didn’t waste time in finding a new coach following her split with Brad Gilbert. Just a week after announcing the end of their partnership, the 2023 US Open champion has hired Matt Daly as her new coach, debuting their collaboration at the China Open in Beijing.
At just 20 years old, Gauff has already proven herself as one of the brightest stars in tennis, reaching the heights of being ranked No. 2 in the world. However, she knows that constant growth and adaptation are essential to staying at the top. After parting ways with Gilbert, Gauff was left with only one coach, Jean-Christophe (“JC”) Faurel, a trusted member of her team. But she was looking to add someone new to help elevate her game.
Enter 45-year-old Matt Daly, a coach with experience on the ATP Tour, most recently working with Canadian star Denis Shapovalov. Daly played collegiate tennis at the University of Notre Dame. The collaboration between Gauff and Daly began a week before Gauff flew to Beijing.
Speaking to WTA Insider at the China Open, Gauff expressed her excitement about the new partnership and hinted that a long-term collaboration is on the horizon:
I think this is probably what it will look like next year too. I’m super excited for a new change and hopefully to improve other parts of my game. Working with Brad was really great and obviously we had a great partnership. I think it was just time to do a reset, a refresh, and add some things in my game that I felt like I need to do to have a better season next year.
The key aspect of Gauff’s game that she plans to focus on initially is her serve, which has been a noticeable weakness in the recent period. Earlier this month, Gauff’s US Open title defense ended with a fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro, a match in which she hit 19 double faults.
“There are other parts of my game that I want to work on, too, but the focus right now is the serve,” Gauff said. “When I serve well, I play pretty well. For me, that’s the basis for my game.”
As the fourth seed in Beijing, Gauff had a first-round bye and will face off against Clara Burel in her opening match on Friday. This isn’t the first time these two have met—Gauff narrowly defeated the Frenchwoman in a tight three-set match at Indian Wells earlier this year, 2-6 6-3 7-6(4). Despite not being in her peak form recently, Gauff enters the match as a heavy favorite, though she won’t underestimate Burel.
