Recently, the well-respected American tennis coach Eric Riley talked about Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton, who enjoyed big seasons in 2023. The American duo enjoyed long runs at the US Open 2023 with Gauff winning the title and Shelton reaching the semi-finals. But Riley isn’t so optimistic about both of them sustaining their form, while discussing about their potential paths of success.
In an interview with Tennis World USA, Eric Riley expects both the American youngsters to have a difficult path ahead of them in the coming years. The American coach feels that breaking out early in the career can be tough for youngsters as they are instantly under pressure. However, he further added that players have to work on their weaknesses and believe in themselves to succeed. Eric Riley mentioned that he will give this same advice to both Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton in person.
“I would tell Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton both the same message. Both had their break while young so now, from this day forward, the journey does not get easier. They must enjoy the journey. The expectations, the pressure is now, more than ever, immense and gets to be a difficult thing to manage. Especially on the women’s side. The fact is there are higher expectations on Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton now.”
Erik Riley believes that Coco Gauff will have to deal with more expectations than she did in the 2023 season. Coco Gauff has been widely hailed as the next big thing in women’s tennis. But with competition from the likes of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and the returning Naomi Osaka amongst other women’s players as well, Gauff will have to work harder, evolve faster and remain fit to continue challenging for big titles.
Eric Riley hails Coco Gauff and her super coach Brad Gilbert
Eric Riley has hailed the impact legendary coach Brad Gilbert has made on Coco Gauff, as the American praised the duo. Gauff was struggling with form and after early exit at the Wimbledon 2023 Championships, she decided to team up with Brad Gilbert. The results were quick to see as Gauff dominated the American leg of the season, winning the biggest trophies of her career.
Gauff won the Cincinnati Masters and won her first ever match against Iga Swiatek in the process, before winning the US Open in front of her home crowd in New York City. However, Riley believes that Gilbert deserves the due credit for her performances.
According to Riley, Gilbert has made Gauff a more complete player and helped her mentally. The mental strength to believe that she can beat the top players has helped Gauff take the next step in her career and challenge for Grand Slam titles. Riley further added that although Gilbert is a famous figure due to coaching the likes of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, he has put aside his ego to help Gauff grow as a tennis player.
“A successful super coach, a marque couch, must put ego aside and be the best supporting actor, collaborating with the player’s already established team to help the player win tennis matches. We saw the publicity surrounding Coco Gauff with super coach Brad Gilbert during the US Open, this year.”
