Coco Gauff really struggled in her quarterfinal match at the Australian Open against Elina Svitolina.
Gauff was thrashed by Svitolina, winning just three games in her 59-minute defeat to the Ukrainian.
However, one of the big talking points came after the match, when Gauff was seen breaking her racket behind the scenes.
Gauff called for more privacy for players, but now her former coach has brought the conversation back to her performance on court.
Brad Gilbert points out mistake Coco Gauff made with her serve against Elina Svitolina
Gauff’s serve is often a big topic of discussion, with the world number three hiring biomechanical expert Gavin MacMillan last year specifically to work on that one shot.
Prior to MacMillan and another former coach in Matt Daly, Gauff was coached by Brad Gilbert, who helped her win her first major title at the 2023 US Open.
Over a year on from their split, Gilbert has commented on Gauff’s defeat to Svitolina when speaking to CNN.
In this interview, Gilbert claimed that Gauff was not being aggressive enough on her serve against Svitolina, but he suggested that this defeat could actually have long-term benefits.
“One word that describes Coco incredibly for her age, her whole career, is she’s resilient,” said Gilbert. “And a lot of times (after) a loss, she’s able to figure things out and move forward. Normally in a match she doesn’t lose (by) a score like that but I thought that her opponent played very well in slower conditions indoors.
“I thought maybe she was a little too spinny on her serve… she had zero aces to five double faults but she won a low percentage of first serve points and second serve points so I would have liked to have seen her be a little more aggressive on her serve.
“But the beautiful thing about tennis: sometimes losing can lead to more losing, or sometimes losing can help you go back with your team, rewire, you rewatch the match, learn from it and make some changes.”
Are you worried about Coco Gauff in 2026?
What is next for Coco Gauff after her Australian Open exit?
After losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Gauff is now confirmed to fall down to world number four and be replaced by Amanda Anisimova as the American number one.
However, Gauff will have a good opportunity to overtake Anisimova once again for her next WTA tournament.
Where will Coco Gauff be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
In less than two weeks’ time, Gauff is scheduled to compete at WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
Anisimova won the Qatar Open last year and therefore has 1000 points to defend, while Gauff has just 20 points coming off her ranking from the two tournaments combined.
Gauff lost both of her matches in the Middle East last year, and she will be hoping for a different outcome in 2026, with the Qatar Open getting underway on February 8.
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