“Everybody needs to take a deep breath”: Maria Sharapova’s ex-coach backs Coco Gauff to win ‘multiple Grand Slams’ despite recent struggles

Ex-coach of the former world number one Maria Sharapova, Rick Macci, has backed America’s Coco Gauff to lift ‘multiple Grand Slams’ in the future despite recent struggles. The 21-year-old, who is already regarded as one of the best players in the world in women’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula, is going through a tough phase according to her own high standards.

This year, Gauff has participated in six events and has yet to advance past the quarterfinals stage. Most recently, she featured in the Monte-Carlo Masters, where she was knocked out after losing to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinal in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3.

Ex-coach of the former world number one Sharapova, Macci, who coached a number of other top players in the world, including the likes of Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Venus Williams, has backed Gauff to win ‘multiple Grand Slams’ in the future. The 70-year-old, in a series of posts on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — stated that everyone needs to calm down when they are talking about Gauff, who is still just 21 years old. He stated that the youngster still has a lot of talent and that she will return to her best very soon.

“Coco will be fine. You never lose talent/athletic ability,” he wrote. “This is a journey of winning/ losing staggers/ daggers. She will win multiple Grand Slams and be number one in the future. Everybody freaks out when you lose/Struggle but [if] you win everybody loves to Snuggle. Know her game inside out. Know what is inside this champion. Coco has some genetic qualities better than any player. This is a fragile mental game and liabilities bubble up more when you lose that edge. Fine line between the W/L. The Delray track star will get back on track and track down many Slams in the future. Everybody needs to take a deep breath as Coco will be fine. She is 21. She will go up and down for a while but will 100% go to another level and more in the future. Not tomorrow if you call balls and strikes daily. Before the sunshine/rainbow there is a rain/thunder.”