Coco Gauff's ex-coach Pere Riba was 'forgotten' amid media 'milking' Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert, claims Andrea Petkovic

Andrea Petkovic believes that Coco Gauff's former coach, Pere Riba, deserves more recognition for her progress. According to Petkovic, his contributions are often overshadowed by the media's focus on Gauff's current coach, Brad Gilbert.

Gauff excelled during the 2023 season, achieving her best year on tour. Following a disappointing first-round exit from the Wimbledon Championships, she enlisted Andre Agassi's former coach, Brad Gilbert, to join her team alongside Riba.

This move led to significant success for the American in the latter half of the season, ultimately resulting in her US Open win. However, shortly after her triumph at the New York Major, the 19-year-old parted ways with Riba, with the Spaniard citing "family issues" as the reason behind the split.

With Gauff winning her first WTA 500 title, her first WTA 1000 title, and her maiden Grand Slam title after teaming up with Gilbert, much of her success has been attributed to him. This has prompted Petkovic to argue that Riba has not been given due credit for his work.

On the latest episode of 'The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast,' Petkovic expressed her appreciation for Riba's role in Coco Gauff's development. She emphasized that Gilbert had already received extensive praise for his stellar coaching abilities from the media.

"One more sentence to Pere Riba because I think Brad Gilbert had his moment. I think ESPN was milking how great of a coach he is and all those interactions it was great. He's a great coach, I'm not saying he's not, he's a great coach," she said (from 33:30).

Drawing on her personal association with Riba, the German stated that she had observed the positive impact of his coaching on Qinwen Zheng's forehand and noted a similar improvement in Gauff.

"Obviously he has the results, he has a very good tennis mind also obviously, and he brought a new energy but I know Pere Riba, I saw what he did with Qinwen Zheng.

"I know that his way of working on the forehand worked for Qinwen and I know it has worked on Coco Gauff's as well. I think a lot of credit goes to him and he was forgotten for my taste, he was forgotten many times because he's done the training," she added.

"After Coco Gauff lost in Wimbledon she was on the court with Pere Riba, Brad Gilbert came on the first day of Washington DC" - Andrea Petkovic

Andrea Petkovic also argued that after Coco Gauff's first-round exit from the Wimbledon Championships in July, it was Pere Riba who worked with her on the court, with Brad Gilbert only joining the team during the Citi Open in August.

"After Coco lost in Wimbledon she was on the court with Pere Riba, Brad Gilbert came on the first day of Washington DC. As I said I'm not taking anything away from Brad but I am saying Pere also had his his way and he also had his footprint on it," she said.

The German went on to outline the various Spanish techniques Riba likely employed to improve Gauff's forehand.

"And I think especially on the forehand because I know the Spanish exercises they do with the fast hand, the accelerating of the wrist, the turning of the body the using your legs, I know what they do and I think it really helped her in making it safer and have more spin on it so I just wanted to have a few sentences for Pere Riba and his work that he done as well," she added.

Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, chimed in to suggest that Riba should rekindle his partnership with Qinwen Zheng.

"He should go back to Qinwen she needs a coach," Stubbs said.

Following his split from Coco Gauff, Pere Riba has indeed reunited with Zheng for the 2024 season.