Coco Gauff’s father named USTA developmental coach of the year

New York, April 30 (IANS) Corey Gauff, father and coach of teenage sensation Coco Gauff, has been named the 2019 Team USA developmental coach of the year.

Corey has been the longtime coach of his daughter, Coco, who debuted on the WTA Tour in 2019 to immediate success and worldwide fanfare.

As a 15-year old, Coco was the youngest player to ever qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon, where she then reached the Round of 16, becoming the youngest player to do so since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.

Coco also reached the third round at the US Open, won her first WTA singles title, in Linz, and her first two WTA doubles titles, with partner Caty McNally, at the Citi Open in Washington DC and Luxembourg.

“One of the traits of a great coach is the ability to focus on process and long-term development,” said USTA Player Development General Manager Martin Blackman as per the official USTA website.

“Corey’s discipline and long-term focus in coaching Coco is evident in the path that Coco’s game has followed: building on a strong foundation of fundamentals and continuously adding new skills at the right time.”

Meanwhile, Jay Berger was honoured as the Team USA legendary coach.

Berger, who joined the USTA as a national coach in 2003, also served as head coach of the US men’s Olympic teams for London 2012, when Bob and Mike Bryan won gold in doubles, and Rio 2016, when Jack Sock and Steve Johnson took home doubles bronze and Sock (gold) and Rajeev Ram (silver) medalled in mixed doubles.

Berger also coached the US Davis Cup team for 12 years, under captains Patrick McEnroe and Jim Courier, and was both the head men’s and women’s coach at the University of Miami.

–IANS

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