Gauff is refreshed and “excited” about the new coaching configuration in Beijing

BEIJING – Coco Gauff has strengthened her coaching team until the end of the season and into next year. The world number 6 announced the end of her partnership with Brad Gilbert after the US Open and has now hired Matt Daly as a coach alongside her long-time coach Jean-Christophe (“JC”) Faurel.

Beijing: Results | Order of play | Pulls

Daly, 45, played college tennis at the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 2001. Last season he coached Denis Shapovalov on the ATP Tour. Gauff began working with Daly a week before he flew to Beijing for the China Open.

“I’m really excited,” Gauff told WTA Insider in Beijing. “I think it will probably look the same next year too. I’m really looking forward to a new change and hope to improve other parts of my game.”

“Brad was really great to work with and obviously we had a great partnership. I think it was just time to reboot, do a refresh and incorporate some things into my game that I think I need to do to have a better season next year.”

The top priority for Gauff and her team is dealing with their serve. Earlier this month, her US Open title defense ended in the fourth round against Emma Navarro. In the defeat she committed 19 double faults.

“There are other parts of my game I want to work on, but the focus right now is on serving,” Gauff said. “When I serve well, I play pretty well. For me, that’s the basis of my game.”

Don’t expect a new service request from Gauff this week. She describes the new changes as “subtle” but is already seeing a clear difference in practice. Now comes the test of reproducing these results under playing conditions.

“The little bit we have done has already resulted in a drastic improvement compared to the state I was in three weeks ago,” she said.

“At this point there is not so much left as, for example, making a whole technology change or restarting everything. It’s just subtle things that will help me if I do it for a week now.”

Gauff, a semifinalist in Beijing last year, is seeded No. 4 this year and will face France’s Clara Burel in her opening match later this week. The 20-year-old starts a busy Asian momentum at No. 6 in the PIF race to the WTA Finals. She is trying to secure a spot in her third consecutive WTA finals.

“I never felt the pressure to make the finals except my first year when I was trying to make it,” Gauff said. “This year it would be great to qualify and experience an organized final, but I’m not trying to put too much pressure either because it’s a new coaching setup and I’m adding things. We started preparations for this tournament. Season early, in a way.

“So I don’t really think about it. If it happens, that’s great. If not, I’ll get an earlier vacation. This is a win-win situation. But everyone wants to make it to the last eight, so that would be cool.”

Last year, Gauff arrived in Beijing exhausted from her tough run to her first Grand Slam title in New York. This year she has an extra spring in her step.

“I did more this time,” said Gauff. “Last year I was so tired that I didn’t do anything. This time I adapted much quicker and actually visited the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, which was really cool.”

“I was allowed to spend two weeks at home so I could feel refreshed. I hope I can finish this season strong.”