Brad Gilbert Fires Back: Former Coco Gauff Coach Drops Bold US Open Prediction Amid Coaching Shake-Up

Former World No. 4 tennis star and longtime ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert is back in the spotlight ahead of the 2025 US Open, weighing in on Coco Gauff’s surprise coaching overhaul while simultaneously fending off social-media backlash. Gauff, who lifted her maiden Grand Slam trophy in New York two years ago with Gilbert in her corner, confirmed this week that she has split from her current team just days before the tournament begins. Gilbert—who coached the American prodigy from July 2023 to September 2024—told Tennis World USA that coaching changes “are a results business” and praised Gauff for “knowing exactly what she needs to feel dangerous in Queens again.” In a separate interview with Sports Illustrated, the 63-year-old strategist called the decision “bold but not reckless,” citing Andre Agassi’s 1999 Roland-Garros turnaround as proof that late-stage tweaks can spark title runs. He added that Gauff’s “off-the-charts athleticism” makes her “the most dangerous unseeded player the women’s draw has ever seen.” Yet Gilbert’s commentary has not been universally applauded. Earlier in the week, he found himself under fire after engaging with an X (formerly Twitter) account accused of harassing World No. 1 Iga Świątek. Fans blasted the exchange as “tone-deaf,” prompting Gilbert to issue a follow-up post insisting he “doesn’t condone any form of online abuse.” While the controversy simmered, industry insiders noted that his blunt style has always been part of the Gilbert brand—one that has produced champion pupils such as Agassi, Andy Roddick and Kei Nishikori. With the year’s final Slam set to begin Monday, Gilbert believes women’s tennis is “as wide-open as it’s been in a decade.” He highlighted Naomi Osaka’s Canadian Open resurgence—crediting her own coaching switch—as evidence that momentum can shift quickly on the WTA Tour. “Change isn’t scary when you’re chasing majors,” he said in his latest “Winning Ugly” podcast episode, nodding to the philosophy outlined in his best-selling coaching manual from 1994. US Open officials are quietly thrilled. Ticket demand for the night session featuring Gauff—now scheduled for Arthur Ashe Stadium’s opening Tuesday—jumped 12 percent within 24 hours of her announcement, according to tournament data reviewed by The Tennis Gazette. A first-round blockbuster against 2021 champion Emma Raducanu is already being touted as “must-see TV,” one that could shatter ESPN’s previous women’s opening-round ratings record set in 2023—another broadcast that, fittingly, featured Gilbert’s courtside commentary. For Gilbert himself, the summer has been a whirlwind: a guest-analyst role during the Olympic tennis event in Paris, a promotional tour for the updated 30th-anniversary edition of “Winning Ugly,” and now a front-row seat to the Gauff coaching drama he inadvertently helped create. When asked if he would ever rejoin her camp, Gilbert kept the door ajar. “If she called, I’d pick up before the second ring,” he joked. “But right now, my job is to call it like I see it.” That candor—equal parts insightful and incendiary—continues to make Brad Gilbert one of tennis’s most influential voices. Whether his latest hot takes age like fine wine or sour grapes will be determined over the next two weeks in Flushing Meadows. One thing is certain: wherever Coco Gauff’s story goes next, Brad Gilbert’s commentary will be trending right alongside it.