Gauff balances coaching hunt amid upcoming challenges
Teenagers are usually the ones desperate to make a good impression in interviews, whether it’s regarding jobs, internships or college admissions.
For Coco Gauff View Profile , who turned 19 back in March, it’s been the other way around. With the April departure of coach Diego Moyano because of personal reasons, she’s been having successful conversations with a variety of candidates. This, Gauff is learning, is the business of tennis.
“I don’t know if I like it or not,” Gauff said earlier this week in Rome. “I’ve definitely been interviewing people, coaches and stuff. When I switched coaches, a little bit like I did with Liam [Smith], I wasn’t involved that much because I didn’t want to be involved. But now I kind of have no choice.
Sparkling from start to finish ✨@CocoGauff is up and running in Rome!#IBI23 pic.twitter.com/RrVpT9aA4S
— wta (@WTA) May 11, 2023
“It’s something you have to do. I just hope who the next person is, I get to keep them for a while because I don’t like interviewing people. It’s so awkward.”
Meanwhile, the on-court tennis piece seems to be going well enough. Gauff is ranked No.5 among Hologic WTA Tour players in singles, with a stout record of 18-7. She’s No.4 in doubles (19-4). And yet, as this Internazionali BNL d’Italia begins to take shape, she’s feeling some pressure.
No.5 Gauff loses one game in Rome opener
On Saturday, Gauff faces No.27 seed Marie Bouzkova View Profile in a third-round match laced with important implications. So far this clay season, Gauff has struggled by her lofty singles standards. She lost her second matches in both Stuttgart and Madrid to players ranked well below her, Anastasia Potapova View Profile and Paula Badosa View Profile .
Gauff is keen to create some momentum in Rome this week and for the upcoming Grand Slam event at Roland Garros, where she reached her first major final a year ago.
“I feel like at this point I don’t really expect anything like result-wise,” she said. “I think I’m just going to try to enjoy it more, more than thinking in the future.
“I think these are the types of moments that make you better. Hopefully, I can learn from what happened in Madrid and apply it into this week and in Paris.
What happened in Madrid was a startling 6-3, 6-0 loss to Badosa. Gauff served poorly and her forehand broke down as Badosa won 11 of the last 12 games. The American hit only eight winners -- and 37 unforced errors.
Afterward, Badosa admitted Gauff’s forehand was her target.
“Yeah, sometimes just give it to her and make her do more what she can,” Badosa said. “That’s a little bit the tactic that I can say now. I hope she doesn’t read it.”
That’s largely what Gauff has been working on since that loss. Even as she and Jessica Pegula View Profile advanced to the doubles final, it was a focus in practice. Gauff has added Jarmere Jenkins, the former hitting partner of Serena Williams and a longtime acquaintance, to the team to give her another set of eyes.
Gauff was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Yulia Putintseva View Profile in her first Rome match but Bouzkova holds a 1-0 head-to-head edge over Gauff, a retirement last summer in Cincinnati. Next up would be the (dangerous) winner of the match between Potapova and Madrid semifinalist Veronika Kudermetova View Profile .
“I’m feeling good, I’m practicing a lot better,” Gauff said. “With the coaching change, it’s tough. I think I was dealing with making that adjustment. Especially during this part of the season, which is important to me, I felt a little bit of pressure.
“Now I feel like I’m just ready to build myself back up into what I know I can be.”
Her hopeful timing might be fortuitous. Suddenly, the bottom half of the draw seems to be wide open. Both No.2 and No.3 seeds Aryna Sabalenka View Profile and Pegula were upset in Thursday’s second round. Here are some other notable Saturday matches:
No.5 Caroline Garcia View Profile vs. Camila Osorio View Profile
Garcia needed all of three sets to defeat Ana Bogdan View Profile 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
Osorio, ranked an even No.100, defeated No.29 seed Petra Martic View Profile 6-4, 6-2. Martic advanced to the quarterfinals in Madrid. Garcia won the only match between them, the semifinals in Lyon (6-2, 6-2) back in February.
No.14 Victoria Azarenka View Profile vs. No.19 Madison Keys View Profile
How is it possible that these two veterans have never played at the WTA level?
Azarenka moves past Stephens in Rome
While hard courts are more their preference, both players have demonstrated an ability to win matches on clay. Azarenka defeated fellow major champion Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-3 in her first match, while Keys was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over qualifier Magdalena Frech View Profile .
No. 30 Anhelina Kalinina View Profile vs. Sofia Kenin View Profile
Kenin, ranked No.134, scored the upset of the tournament, sending home Sabalenka, the recently crowned Madrid champion, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Those sharp, short angles that helped her capture the 2020 Australian Open title were again in evidence. Kalinina was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Anna Blinkova View Profile .
Kenin has won four of six previous matches, including both this year -- in Hobart and Miami.
Wang Xiyu vs. Taylor Townsend View Profile
Seeds? Who needs seeds?
Townsend upsets Pegula in Rome
Embracing new experiences, Townsend challenges tennis to do the same
No.168 Townsend stunned fellow American Jessica Pegula View Profile -- the No.3 seed -- by a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 count while Wang (No.75) was a 6-4, 7-5 winner over No.31 Irina-Camelia Begu View Profile , who had advanced to the quarterfinals in Madrid.
They split their two previous matches last year, in the Charlottesville quarterfinals and the final in Charleston.
