Coco Gauff was all of 19 years old. And though already a bona fide star—offering a harmonious marriage of power, speed, athleticism, strategy and poise—it would not have been hard for her to hear the salon getting restless, awaiting a breakthrough once deemed inevitable.
As she took the court, she was barely two months past Wimbledon, where she flamed out in the first round. And working with a new coach, Brad Gilbert, whose sterling reputation preceded him but whose addition to her team—causing her parents to take a backseat—added pressure.
Sports Illustrated
