Coco Gauff and Victoria Mboko are two of the brightest young stars in women’s tennis, both sitting inside the top 10 — Gauff at No. 4 and Mboko newly breaking in at No. 10. Despite a two-year age gap, their similar, aggressive styles have fueled constant comparisons. However, Gauff’s former coach doesn’t see any comparison.
Coco Gauff’s Ex-Coach Makes Honest Admission on Victoria Mboko Debate
Recently, on The Big T podcast, Brad Gilbert joined Andrea Petkovic and Coco Vandeweghe to deliver a clear verdict on the debate.
Gauff is one of the biggest names in women’s tennis, already having won two Grand Slam titles at just 21 years of age. Along with her major titles, she has 11 titles under her name and has been in the top rankings for most of her career.
She was the top-ranked American for most of 2025, only to be dethroned by Amanda Anisimova in 2026. As of February 2026, Gauff has been in the WTA top 10 for over 175 weeks and has accumulated over 100 weeks in the top 3.
MORE: Serena Williams Does Something She’s Not Done in Over 2 Years As Tennis Rumors Escalate
While the American has already established herself in women’s tennis, Mboko is a rising star looking to join the elite. She started the 2025 season ranked 333rd in the world and won 22 matches in a row without dropping a set, including four consecutive ITF titles.
She then entered the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal and defeated four Grand Slam champions, including Gauff and Naomi Osaka in the final. Mboko finished the season ranked No. 18 in the world and made her top-10 debut in February 2026 after reaching the final of the Qatar Open.
Given such a similar trajectory, tennis analysts question whether Mboko has a higher ceiling than Gauff. Vandeweghe began her analysis first, stating that she does not agree with this, given that Gauff already has 2 major titles at such a young age and can win multiple more in her career.
She also stated that Mboko has a bright future ahead of her and will achieve great success, but wasn’t so sure about her Grand Slam titles.
Petkovic chimed in, agreeing with Vandeweghe’s assessment, stating that Gauff has one of the strongest champions’ minds for a player that young. She then talked about the time when she faced a 15-year-old Gauff and immediately called her a generational talent.
Initially, the German did not talk about the match result, but when Vandeweghe asked whether she had won, Petkovic revealed that she had, in fact, lost.
This was from the 2019 Linz Open, where Gauff entered the tournament as a qualifier and beat the German in straight sets in the semifinals. She then went on to lift the trophy, beating the 2017 Roland Garros champion Jeļena Ostapenko in the final.
Gilbert then summed up the conversation, saying,
“This is an easy trifecta. This is a shank. And Mboko maybe has a higher ceiling in a one-off match if she’s playing her best tennis, but Coco is more resilient. She stays healthy. That’s going to be a big thing for Mboko. You said she has a knee issue. I think that Coco has a much higher ceiling longer term. But just for a one-off match, maybe Mboko’s ceiling’s pretty high. This might be the only thing we agree on.”
This assessment made it clear that, as of now, Gauff is a much better champion than Mboko, but in the coming time, things can change, and if Mboko keeps improving her game, she can definitely win multiple major titles.
Following her Qatar Open campaign, Mboko decided to withdraw from the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai. Gauff, on the other hand, is competing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, having defeated Anna Kalinskaya, Elise Mertens, and Alexandra Eala so far. She is set to face the seventh seed, Elina Svitolina, in the semifinals today, hoping to reach the final and add another title to her name.
