Coco Gauff definitely improved as a player on the women’s tour after winning a Grand Slam title. However, the 19-year-old struggled in the early part of this season, suffering defeats in the first round and putting on some average performances in important tournaments.
But after the tennis star partnered with famous coach Brad Gilbert during the hard court season, things started to change for her. The 62-year-old has been dealing with a serious health issue despite helping Gauff win her first major title.
The American tennis instructor recently posted a positive update on social media on his fight against the fatal illness. Gilbert informed his followers on Twitter that he recently had ‘Mohs surgery’ as a preventive measure. He tweeted: “Not looking forward to 9 am. Mohs surgery on my neck. The Sun is definitely a tough opponent if you are a regular tennis player or in the Sun a lot, get yearly checkups with a dermatologist.”
Gilbert updated fans with another tweet: “1st cut done. Now the 60-90 mins wait from the lab results, to see if more cutting is needed, or stitch me up and early finish.”
Coco Gauff in 2023
Now ranked no.3 (career-high), the American played her last match on the 9th of September when she beat world no.1 Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the U.S. Open to win her 6th career title.
This season Gauff owns a compiled 45-13 match record. Gauff has won 4 titles in 2023 in Auckland, Washington, Cincinnati and U.S. Open.