As Coco Gauff aims to capture her first Grand Slam title today at the U.S. Open, she’ll be cheered on by her team. That support system includes her parents, Candi and Corey, and her coaches, Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert, along with her trainers, hitting partner, and members of her management. So, during the U.S. Open finals today, here’s who we can expect to see in Coco Gauff’s player’s box:
Her coaches, Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert.
Front and center in her player’s box are her coaches: Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert. Yes, Riba looks very similar to Chris Pine, but they are not related. Riba is a former Spanish professional player, and he’s coached a number of women’s tennis players, including Zheng Qinwen. Gilbert, who works as a tennis analyst for ESPN, has notably coached Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray.
Her parents, Candi Gauff and Corey Gauff.
In the past, both Coco’s parents Candi and Corey could be spotted in her player’s box, cheering on their daughter. This U.S. Open, however, Corey hasn’t been in the box—he’s too anxious.
“The one thing that’s different is my dad isn’t in the box anymore because he gets too nervous,” Coco said after her fourth round match. “So he’s somewhere in one of the suites and he has been apparently doing laps of the stadium, I heard, during the matches. So I don’t know if he can hear me right now but I felt his good energy even though I can’t really see him.” Following her semifinal win, Corey came running down to the box celebrate with his wife and his daughter’s team.
Other of Coco’s family members have been spotted in her box, including her grandmother, Yvonne Odom, and her aunt Joi Odom Grant.
Her hitting partner, Jarmere Jenkins.
Jarmere Jenkins, a retired professional tennis player, was formerly Serena Williams’s hitting partner. Since Serena’s retirement, Jenkins is now on Team Coco.
Her trainers, Maria Vargo and Stephane Dal Soglio.
Vargo and Dal Soglio work as Gauff’s trainers. As Jenkins wrote on Instagram earlier this summer, “A special shoutout to @meryvago & @preseason___ for preparing Coco for battle in intense, humid conditions. Your training and guidance were evident throughout the week.”
Gauff with her team following her semifinal win. Vargo is standing next to Coco; Dal Solgio is tagged, but not in this photo. Riba and Jenkins are in the back, and Goldman and Sant Albano (see below) are on the left of the photo.
TEAM8 members.
Gauff is represented by TEAM8, a sports and entertainment management company. According to Instagram, TEAM8 employees Leah Goldman and Alessandro Sant Albano were in her box during the semifinals, and we can likely expect to see them during the finals.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
