Rennae Stubbs has had her say on Coco Gauff’s heated communication with her team during Wimbledon.
The 20-year-old was competing against fellow American Emma Navarro in the fourth round and Gauff struggled to assert her authority in the match.
She was having such trouble, especially on the forehand side, to the point where the World number two was seen pleading with her box to advise her.
Despite what she tried to do on court to trouble Navarro, the 19th seed completed a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win to advance to the first Grand Slam semi-final of her career.
What did Rennae Stubbs say about Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon defeat?
Gauff’s defeat meant Wimbledon is the only major where she failed to reach at least the semi-finals. This is all the more surprising after she burst on the scene at the All-England Club in 2019 where she beat five-time champion Venus Williams as a 15-year-old.
The other perplexing moment was Gauff looking visibly frustrated with her team as she asked for help from her box to try and turn the match around.
It was an awkward situation for coach Brad Gilbert to be in as he expressed his fear of getting in trouble with what he tried to communicate.
This was noted by Stubbs on the French Connection Podcast, as she thinks Gilbert made the wrong call as Navarro’s box were in position to hear what he was saying.
“It’s also awkward at Wimbledon because the player boxes are right next to each other on Centre Court, “ Sam Querrey said. “So what is Brad going to lean over and say keep hitting the ball high to Emma’s backhand? But then Emma’s coach [can hear].”
Stubbs responded: “He was literally telling her everything. If I was Emma I would be like what, you want to go high to my backhand. He was basically telling Emma Navarro what he wants her to do, so I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do.”
Coco Gauff turns attention to Paris Olympics after Wimbledon defeat
Gauff was the favourite for many to lift the Wimbledon title before her shock defeat to Navarro.
As two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin pointed out on the BBC, Gauff, who already struggles on the forehand side, faces even more challenges with that shot on grass, where the ball bounces lower.
She will now switch to the clay where the Paris Olympics tennis tournament will be held, where Gauff will become an Olympian for the first time.
She is part of an American women’s singles team that also includes Navarro, Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins.
Gauff missed the Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID-19 just days before the start of the event in July 2021.
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