"Don't think Coco Gauff has to be in a rush" - Andy Roddick assesses American's coaching situation after Brad Gilbert split

Andy Roddick thinks Coco Gauff could do without rushing to appoint a new coach. Roddick shared his assessment in the aftermath of Gauff's decision to part ways with iconic coach Brad Gilbert following a series of disappointing results.

Gilbert, who previously coached the likes of Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, and Roddick himself, guided Gauff to the 2023 Citi Open, Cincinnati Open, and US Open titles. The pair started the ongoing season on a positive note as well, with Gauff winning the ASB Classic in Auckland and then reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.

However, since then, Gauff's season has fallen off, with the American often having to rely on her fighting spirit to clinch wins. The technical side of her game once again came in for criticism. Arguably, the former World No. 2's worst run of form came during the North American summer hardcourt swing, where she suffered early exits at the National Bank Open in Toronto, the Cincinnati Open, and most recently, the US Open.

In her abject US Open fourth-round loss to compatriot Emma Navarro, Gauff had a shockingly high 19 double faults and 60 unforced errors; a dismal statistical reflection of her on-court performance. Unsurprisingly perhaps, coach Gilbert came under fire as well, including listening to Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs criticizing Gauff in front of him on-air.

Not long after her poor US Open title defense, Gauff and Gilbert announced that they would no longer be working together. Since then, curiosity has been building around who the former World No. 2's next coach would be. Andy Roddick, who briefly helped Gauff ahead of the ongoing season to improve her serve, has suggested that the 20-year-old doesn't immediately have to hire a coach. During a recent episode of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast, he said,

"I've spent some time with Brad (Gilbert) after they lost the US Open. I don't think she (Coco Gauff) has to be in a rush (to find a new coach). JC Farrell, who I used to play juniors with, has been on that bag for months now. So it's not as if, 'I can't go play tournaments in the Asian swing and the European swing because I have nobody'. That's not the case, right?" (45:24).

The 2003 US Open men's singles champion went on to wonder if Gauff would eventually decide to work with a coach with a big brand name or a "technical guru" like Rick Macci, who famously coached Venus and Serena Williams during their childhood. Macci has also trained Jennifer Capriati, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova.

"I'm curious. The thing I don't know the answer to is the name-brand coaches, whether it's a high-profile former player, whether it's a Brad Gilbert who has these splashy storylines with a number of other former Slam winners. Is that something she still wants to go towards? Or is it a technical guru, someone who doesn't want to travel all the time? Like a Rick Macci, who's responsible for the technique on Venus and Serena and serving and the whole thing."

Gauff is currently in Beijing ahead of the start of the 2024 China Open.

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Coco Gauff receives bye at China Open; will face either Clara Burel or Tamara Korpatsch in 2R opener

How Coco Gauff performs at the 2024 China Open is likely to be a good indicator of whether parting with Brad Gilbert has had any immediate impact on her game. Gauff, the No. 4 seed at the WTA 1000 event, has received a first-round bye in Beijing and will lock horns against either Clara Burel or Tamara Korpatsch in the second round.

On paper, the 2023 US Open champion should be the favorite, and if she does go through to the third round, she will square off against compatriot Taylor Townsend or British No. 1 Katie Boulter.

Gauff made her China Open debut last year and reached the semifinals, where she was ousted by eventual champion Iga Swiatek.