Is Coco Gauff on the brink of her first major title? - ESPN

NEW YORK — Coco Gauff knew she needed to make a change.

She had just lost in the first round of Wimbledon — her earliest exit in four appearances at the All England Club — and it was the latest disappointing result for the 19-year-old. She had been so close to a major breakthrough since bursting onto the scene in 2019 but hadn't been making the progress she knew she was capable of.

So while she was still in London, she strategized with her agent and parents for the next phase of her career. They called Brad Gilbert, the player-turned-coach who had worked with Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, to see if he would be interested in meeting with them. He agreed. They met for an hour during the tournament's middle Sunday and talked about tennis and life. Two weeks later, they brought him on for a trial run as a consultant during the 500-level Citi Open in Washington, D.C., joining her newly hired coach Pere Riba.

"[I] feel like I'm in a rebuilding period," Gauff said ahead of the tournament at the end of July. «I'm trying to hit the next gear of my game. I feel like I have the foundation in my game. Now it's building around that, it's building the house, I guess, essentially. I have the land and I need to build the house on top of it, make it as extravagant and big and pretty as possible.»

With her new team in place, Gauff wasted no time in the building process. She breezed through the draw and won — the biggest title of her career up to that point. Gilbert's contract was extended, and Gauff has had a dominant rise since. She won the 1000-level title at the Western & Southern Open, and in the semifinals there, had her first-ever win in eight tries over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Her blistering-hot summer has yet to