Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert recently questioned Iga Swiatek’s match scheduling at the ongoing 2025 Cincinnati Open. However, his comments seemingly didn’t go down well with Rick Macci, another iconic American tennis coach who coached Venus and Serena Williams during their childhood years. Now, Gilbert has issued a rather nonchalant response to Macci’s perceived criticism of him.
At this year’s Cincinnati Open, all of Swiatek’s matches so far have been scheduled for early 11 AM starts (local time). Notably, the Pole’s quarterfinal opponent, Anna Kalinskaya, touched on this after their clash was scheduled at 11 AM a day after the Russian finished her own fourth-round match in the early hours of the previous day’s morning. These developments left Kalinskaya with very little time to prepare for the reigning Wimbledon champion’s threat.
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In the aftermath of Iga Swiatek's fourth-round win over Sorana Cirstea, Brad Gilbert, who guided Coco Gauff to her maiden singles Major title at the 2023 US Open, took to X (formerly Twitter) and controversially wrote:
"You don’t even have to look 👀 at schedule and Know Iga Pop on 1st at 11am 🕚 wonder 💭 if her team ask for that or just happens that way a lot"
Rick Macci, without specifically addressing Gilbert, appeared to fire back following Swiatek's victory against Kalinskaya, which saw the Pole reach the semifinals of the 2025 Cincinnati Open.
"Iga did not make the draw or who she played at Wimbledon. She did not make the schedule of playing times in Cincinnati. Coaches need to focus on no more excuses and training instead of chirping and complaining. @WTA," Macci wrote in an X post of his own.
Later, a fan of Swiatek teased Gilbert on X, urging the veteran American coach to take notice of Macci's post. Here, Gilbert nonchalantly responded with:
"Laughing 😆 out loud"
Iga Swiatek's Cincinnati Open SF against Elena Rybakina set for 1PM start; Pole and Kazakh likely to battle in uncomfortable conditions
Playing conditions so far in Cincinnati this year have been incredibly harsh, particularly during the daytime. With a 1 PM local time start scheduled for Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina's semifinal, the Pole and the Kazakh are likely to have to do battle not only against each other, but also the relentless heat and humidity.
Speaking up about the prevailing daytime conditions in Cincinnati ahead of the semifinals, Swiatek suggested a subtle tweak that could be made in terms of players' towel use during matches.
"I think, maybe giving five more seconds to use the towel or have more time to breathe because it's a bit harder, that would be nice. But besides that I think we can handle it," the Pole said.
The WTA No. 2 heads into the semfinal showdown against Rybakina with a 5-4 head-to-head lead.
