Coach Pere Riba insists nothing bad happened between him and Coco Gove after he again claimed "personal reasons" led to an abrupt parting of ways with the reigning U.S. Open champion. Riba made his debut with Gough's team during the grass-court season.
Gough also added Brad Gilbert to her coaching staff after the Wimbledon Open, with the two working at the same time. It worked wonders for Gough, who won the U.S. Open, Cincinnati and Washington during his North American hard-court swing. But when Gough returned to the China circuit, she was without coach Riba.
When asked about Riba's absence, Gauff, who is ranked third in the world, said he left the team to address some personal issues. Many were shocked that Riba and Gauff parted ways considering how successful they were in the early days of their partnership.
"Everything was perfect. It was a situation where I had some family problems. You know, in that moment, my family needed me. I had to come back. And then, you know, it was a personal thing.
I feel like I have to be here. It's a tough situation for me, tough decisions. We both tried to find a solution, but when these things happen, you can't control it. But everything is perfect; I like it very much. Good results; good improvements.
I can only do positive things. Of course, I was living in the U.S. when this happened. [I just came back to fix my problems at home]," Riba said on the Functional Tennis podcast. Meanwhile, Riba will return to the WTA Tour as a coach in 2024.
Earlier this month, world No. 15 Chin-Wen Cheng announced that she has reunited with coach Riba for the 2024 season. "Reunited after some time apart and ready to embark on a journey together to prepare for the upcoming year. Back to the original time," Jung announced on Dec. 3 on Instagram.
