Coco Gauff brought the curtains down on a successful 2023 season with a semi-final finish at the WTA Finals. In a year of firsts, she lifted some prestigious titles and established herself as a force to reckon with. She has come a long way from training in public parks to working under some of the top coaches in the game at elite centres.
Gauff’s father, an athlete himself, initiated her into tennis when she was six or seven years old. Her initial training took place at the Pompey Park Tennis Courts in Delray Beach, Florida. This was the same arena where Serena and Venus Williams developed into the elite stars fans know them as. Just like the Williams sisters, Gauff too, was guided by her father during her early days. She has remained attached to the academy she practised in at Pompey Park over the years.
At the age of 10, Gauff travelled to France to train at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy. She was picked from a selection camp for Champ’Seed Foundation run by the French coach. He set up the initiative in 2014 to help talented players who did not have the resources to get high-level tennis training. She alternated between Delray Beach and France in an arrangement agreed upon by her parents and Mouratoglou.
Even after her debut in 2018 as a 14-year-old, Gauff continued frequenting Pompey Park to train. Her father was her primary coach during her early days. He was her foremost trainer as recently as June 2023. Her association with Mouratoglou also ended sometime before this.
After her father and Mouratoglou, Gauff hired coaches Pere Riba (now no longer associated with the teenager) and Brad Gilbert. Under the duo, the American elevated her career to the next level.
Coco Gauff announced herself as a serious singles title contender in 2023
Gauff’s 2023 started strongly with a semi-final run at the WTA 100 Dubai Tennis Championships. She followed it with quarter-final finishes at the Indian Wells Masters and the French Open. However, she hit a slump and suffered a string of poor showings. The arrival of Riba and Gilbert, though, changed fortunes for the 19-year-old.
Spaniard Riba’s first assignment ended in abject failure as Gauff exited the 2023 Wimbledon in the first round. The appointment of Gilbert, who had previously worked with Andy Murray and Andre Agassi, as a consultant worked wonders. Gauff lifted her first WTA 500 title, the Washington Open, weeks after hiring the veteran coach. She soon followed it up by winning the Cincinnati Masters, her maiden WTA 1000 title in singles.
Her greatest achievement, however, was yet to come. Gauff won her biggest trophy, the 2023 US Open, egged on by the vociferous home crowd. This boosted her to a career-high World No.3 rank and secured her a spot in only her second WTA Finals. She improved on her results from last year and qualified for the semi-final of the year-end championship. Here, however, she lost to good friend and doubles partner Jessica Pegula.
Gauff will hope her association with Gilbert continues to bear fruit in the upcoming new season. Her father and old coaches at the Mouratoglou Academy and Pompey Park will look forward to their star protege’s next visit.
