Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, two tennis superstars, recently parted ways with their coaches. Gauff, previously coached by Brad Gilbert, faced a slump in performance, culminating in a disappointing US Open title defense. Osaka, returning to the tour after a maternity break, also decided to make a coaching change, citing the need for a fresh perspective. A prominent tennis journalist weighed in on these high-profile coaching moves.

In the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast dated October 4, a renowned journalist Candy Reid suggested that it all started between Coco Gauff and Brad Gilbert at Wimbledon. While she kept looking at her guest box for help from her coach, a fix did not arrive, leaving her frustrated. “…And then again, of course, it happened when Coco lost to Yulia Putintseva in Cincinnati(in R32) from four to up in the third set at times, Brad Gilbert was seen with his head in his hands, which wasn’t the best look,” said Reid, identifiing the primary factors that likely contributed to the coaching changes.

Soon after Matt Daly joined the 20-year-old’s longtime coach Jean-Christophe Faure. This seems to have fascinated Reid. She added that Matt is working on the weakness that Gauff has struggled with for the longest time: her serve. “It’s all on-site, really nice. We can talk about that a little later, but Matt Daly is really taking control of the Coco Gauff game, and she was doing a huge amount of work behind her serve in practice,” she further stated. The proof lies in Gauff currently eyeing a showdown agaisnt Paula Badosa at the SFs of the China Open.

A week later, Naomi Osaka parted ways with Wim Fissette after four years and two Grand Slam titles. Reid suggested that her joining hands with, Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams from 2012 to 2022, could bear fruits for her: “I think most people think that that actually will be a very good relationship, because he is the master, isn’t he, of marketing, of building his players up, and that’s what she needs.”

Prior to the China Open, the former world No. 1 had been struggling to win consecutive matches since mid-June. But in Beijing, she got through her first three matches. However, despite leading by a set against Coco Gauff in the round-of-16, a back injury forced her retirement from the China Open. Regarding their recent coaching changes, both Gauff and Osaka shared their perspectives on the decisions.

Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka’s take on their coaching splits

Gauff, who has been plagued by her “poor service”, indicated that now was an opportune time to make significant changes to her game. “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,” said Coco Gauff after pulling in a string of disappointments. Interestingly, the only title that she won this year was the ASB Classic right at the start of the year.

Whereas Naomi Osaka, who was highly doubtful before working with Patrick Mouratoglou because of his successful stints with players like Serena Williams, now feels nice to have someone like him. “I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets. I’d rather pull the trigger on something and I don’t want to say ‘fail’, but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career,” Osaka said.

With the recent coaching changes, it will be exciting to see if they are able to overcome their weaknesses and stun everyone. What are your thoughts on this? Do let us know in the comments below!