Maria Sharapova has some advice for Coco Gauff, who recently fired tennis coach Brad Gilbert.
“I think Coco has an amazing head on her shoulders and knows that there will be changes in her team throughout the years,” Sharapova, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Stella Artois ‘Let’s do Dinner Summer Series’ event in New York City on Thursday, September 19.
“What you need at a certain point in your career is not what you need later in your career,” the retired tennis player continued. “I was very fortunate with the teams that I had. I still remain very close to all of my coaches. They’re such big team members and they carry so much weight. A team is really important.”
Sharapova added, “It takes time to build trust and learn from [your team] and accept their advice. But it’s a fun journey.”
Gilbert, 63, announced via X on Wednesday, September 18, that he and Gauff, 20, had parted ways after an intense summer 2024 season. “Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead,” Gilbert wrote. “I’m excited for the next chapter in my coaching career.”
Gilbert previously coached players such as Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick, and started working with Gauff in July 2023 as co-coach with Pere Riba. Under his coaching, Gauff became the No. 2 ranking player of all time last summer. She snagged her first Grand Slam title in September 2023 and won three more titles that summer in Washington D.C., Cincinnati and at the U.S. Open.
However, during the 2024 season, the young tennis star experienced setbacks after losing to fellow American Emma Navarro in the last two Grand Slams and then failed to medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Parting ways from a coach is something Sharapova knows about all too well. In 2008, after winning her third Grand Slam in Australia, the Russian tennis star asked her coach and father, Yuri Sharapov, to step back from the role he had fulfilled for almost her entire career.
“At that point, I had just won my third Grand Slam,” she told Us. “Perhaps in a different situation or [for] a different player, that wouldn’t be a time to stop with your coach or your father, but I just wanted to fly on my own. I wanted to figure things out. I was in my early 20s and I just felt ready, even though he still remained a big part of my career.”
Despite firing her dad, Sharapova shared with Us that she and Yuri remain “very close.”
“I’m an only child and I’m very close to both of my parents,” she shared. “They’ve just been wonderful influences in my life. We’ve shared so much through my sport and my upbringing together. We came to a new country at a young age, so we were a little team. I’m grateful that I had them by my side.”
Sharapova retired from tennis in February 2020.
