"Next year Coco Gauff will be No. 1" - American's ex-coach confident of her future despite separation

Coco Gauff's former coach, Pere Riba, shared his optimism for her future after their separation. He firmly believes that she has the potential to become the World No. 1 next year.

In June 2023, Pere Riba assumed the coaching role for the American tennis sensation. With Riba's guidance, alongside Brad Gilbert, who joined later in August, Gauff secured three titles: the Citi Open, the Cincinnati Open, and the US Open.

Coco Gauff's triumph at the US Open helped her secure her first Grand Slam title, and she became the first teenager to achieve this feat since Serena Williams in 1999.

Pere Riba told Spanish news outlet Marca on Tuesday (October 31) that he would not continue as Coco Gauff's coach, citing family issues as the reason. He expressed pride in their accomplishments together and conveyed his belief that she would become the top-ranked player on the WTA tour the next year.

"Due to personal family issues. I am very happy with the work we have done together, because all the objectives were met, and I am convinced that next year Gauff will be No. 1," Pere Riba said.

During Riba's tenure as Gauff's coach, she reached a career-high ranking of World No. 3, only behind World No.2 Iga Swiatek and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

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Darren Cahill discusses Pere Riba's contribution to Coco Gauff's recent success

Coco Gauff pictured at the 2023 WTA Finals - Day 2

During an appearance on the podcast "Advantage Connors" in September 2023, Darren Cahill, a former Australian tennis player and tennis coach, discussed Brad Gilbert's influence on Coco Gauff's game and the improvements he had brought since joining hands with her.

"He's making sure she is walking and playing to her best more often. And as you know, a lot of good coaching comes from selling belief and giving that player belief to firstly see that they could just care about them, that they believe in them and they are willing to do whatever it takes to let them become a better tennis player. And Brad is certainly of that nature," he said.

Cahill also said that credit should be given to Pere Riba. He noted Riba had been with Gauff for the same period as Brad Gilbert, pointing out the importance of having both a great coach and a supportive team environment for the success of a dual coaching setup.

"But I think some credit also has to go to the other coach who has been with her since the start of Wimbledon. He was with her for pretty much the same time and to make a dual coaching team work, there has to be a great coach and a great environment within the team," Cahill said.

Prior to his collaboration with Coco Gauff, Brad Gilbert had coached several tennis legends, including Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, and Andy Roddick, among others.

Meanwhile, Pere Riba co-founded GRTennis in Barcelona, focusing on junior and professional players' development and he coached Chinese tennis star Qinwen Zheng from 2021 to 2023.