Reports in Spain today have revealed world no. 7 Coco Gauff has added Pere Riba to her coaching staff ahead of Wimbledon, having split with Diego Moyano due to the Spaniard’s personal issues just before the clay swing began in April.
Gauff gets long-awaited clarity before SW19
- MARCA report the 19-year-old has added Pere Riba to her team, with the 35-year-old former player having previously helped aid the development of rising Chinese talent Qinwen Zheng and Arantxa Rus among others
- Gauff, who lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in Paris earlier this month, began her grass season in Berlin: after beating Katerina Siniakova, she lost 6-4, 6-0 against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Talented American is among host of notable names set to feature at Eastbourne this coming week, where she’s seeded fifth and will face compatriot Bernarda Pera on Tuesday morning (from 10am BST)
It feels like just yesterday, I was writing this piece on Diego Moyano and how having a teenage daughter helped him better relate to Coco Gauff’s tendencies as she continues to mature. Through no fault of her own, she’s now onto a new coach.
As quoted by the WTA Tour, she said at the time of their split: “It wasn’t really my decision, he was having some personal things going on, so had to step down.
It was something I think both of us didn’t want to happen, because we did have such a good time together. But I understand that, and wish him nothing but the best. I know that he’s always a person that if I need to call I’ll pick up the phone, I had a great year with him.”
The 19-year-old, a Roland Garros runner-up twelve months ago, has experienced an inconsistent season so far across all surfaces – with many observers putting that down to her faltering forehand, a weakness many opponents are keen to target.
ALSO: Rick Macci – Gauff could dominate, if her forehand was taken care of
She’ll be hoping that a new coaching addition will do something to remedy this issue long-term after Patrick Mouratoglou was seen alongside her parents in Paris.
However, the highly-esteemed French coach stressed it was merely a temporary solution for both, borne by the fact she had been at his academy since age 10.
Riba has been successfully helping Qinwen Zheng translate her junior success to the senior ranks over the past two seasons, and is said to be in Eastbourne with the American talent this week before Wimbledon’s main draw begins Monday.
June 26 update: Alongside singles action… Coco is playing alongside doubles partner and world no.4 Jessica Pegula – they won 6-2, 6-1 in just under an hour’s match play against Yulia Putintseva and Kamila Rakhimova in their opening match.
Coincidentally, Pegula [3] gets her Eastbourne campaign underway against none other than Zheng – tomorrow’s victor will play Colombian talent Camila Osorio in the second-round, after the 21-year-old qualifier’s 6-4, 6-4 win against Shelby Rogers.
Picture source: Getty Images
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