Lfe under new coach Matt Daly could not have started any better for Coco Gauff. 

After struggles throughout the summer, Gauff picked up the eighth title of her career at the China Open on Sunday, cruising past Karolina Muchova in the final after a gritty run to that stage.

The world No 4 called time on her partnership with Brad Gilbert last month and has since added Daly to her team to work alongside long-term coach Jean-Christophe Faurel.

We look at Daly’s journey to this stage, and what he could work on with the former US Open winner.

College and playing career

The highlight of Daly’s playing was his time playing college tennis while studying for a finance degree at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Daly was the college’s No 1 player and was nationally ranked during his collegiate days, though his success did not translate into a long ATP career.

The 45-year-old reached a career-high of 941st on the ATP Tour in 2003, though his career was ultimately cut short due to a persistent shoulder problem.

Coaching career

Since his playing career came to an end, Daly has embarked on a long and hugely varied coaching career.

He is currently the Director of High Performance and Talent ID at the Westchester Tennis Centre in Port Chester, New York – one of the leading tennis centres in the state.

Among the high-profile players he has previously worked with are former world No 4 James Blake and current ATP star Denis Shapovalov.

Daly and Canadian star Shapovalov worked together for seven months in 2023, though called time on their partnership amid the former world No 10’s struggle with form and injury.

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Grip MD

Daly is known to have a specialist focus on both footwork and grip technique, and the latter interest led to the launch of Grip MD.

Created alongside former ATP doubles star Mark Merklein, Grip MD is a training device that players – both amateur and professional – can slide onto the handle of their racket to help improve their grip.

It allows players to adjust and improve their continental grip, which is key for slicing, serving, and volleying.

“Having worked with players of all levels from beginners to pros, I have found that teaching the correct grip is the most important part of any player’s technical development,” said Daly, when the product launched.

“It is also extremely hard to teach and commonly misunderstood. This device greatly simplifies the process, allowing players to find the perfect grip in a short period of time.”

What will he and Gauff work on?

The focus on grip technique is likely a huge reason why Gauff hired Daly, with her serve – in particular her second serve – and her forehand proving key issues during a difficult summer.

She hit 19 doubles faults during her US Open loss to Emma Navarro, so it comes as no surprise that the world No 4 has looked to address this as quickly as possible.

“Obviously right now I’m very young, so I’m looking just for someone to help me develop in the long-term process, try to help make my game as complete as I can be,” she said in Beijing.

“For me, I mean, with the relationship, adding Matt to the team, we literally just started like two weeks ago, so really only had a week to work with training-wise, then we had to come to China and the tournament.

“We’re working on a lot of developmental things. He’s great. Obviously, I still have JC on the team. For me, it was trying to find a mix of two people that work together well. So far, I mean, it’s obviously working result-wise.”

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