# Brad Gilbert

Brad Gilbert (born August 9, 1961) is an American former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tennis commentator and analyst for ESPN. During his career, he won 20 singles titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in 1990, and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 18 four years prior. He won a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics, and both a gold medal and a silver medal at the 1981 Maccabiah Games.
Since retiring from the professional tour, he has coached several top players, most notably Andre Agassi who won six of his eight Grand Slam titles under Gilbert's tutelage. Other players he has coached include Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Coco Gauff.

## Early life

Brad Gilbert was born on August 9, 1961, to a Jewish family in Oakland, California. Brad began playing tennis at age 4 after his father, Barry Gilbert (a history teacher and owner of a real estate firm), took up the sport. Despite being undersized, Brad became the top player at Piedmont High School following in the footsteps of his older siblings, Barry Jr. and Dana, who each held the top spot on the high school's tennis team.

## Playing career
### College

Gilbert played tennis for Foothill College, a junior college in Los Altos Hills, California, from 1980 to 1982, where he was coached by Tom Chivington. During this time, he won the California Junior College Singles Championship and the U.S. Amateur Hardcourt Championship. In 1981, Gilbert became a member of the American Junior Davis Cup team.
He competed for the US in the 1981 Maccabiah Games in Israel, losing in the men's singles finals to Israeli Shlomo Glickstein, but winning a gold medal in doubles with Jon Levine over fellow Americans Rick Meyer and Paul Bernstein.
In 1982, he transferred to Pepperdine University, playing for Allen Fox. He became an All-American and reached the finals of the 1982 NCAA Championship, losing to Mike Leach of Michigan 7–5, 6–3.

### Professional

Gilbert joined the professional tour in 1982 and won his first top-level singles title later that year in Taipei. His first doubles title came at the 1985 Tel Aviv Open, with Ilie Năstase; he also won the singles championship.
Gilbert won a total of 20 top-level singles titles during his career including 1986 Pacific Coast Invitational against Aaron Krickstein, and the biggest being the Cincinnati Masters tournament in 1989. He was also runner-up in a further 20 singles events, including Cincinnati in 1990, where he lost to six-time Grand Slam champion Stefan Edberg, and the Paris Masters in 1987 and 1988.
Gilbert's most successful year on the tour was 1989, during which he won five singles titles, including Cincinnati, where he beat four future Hall of Famers to claim the title: Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
Gilbert's best performances at Grand Slam tournaments were in the Quarterfinals of the 1987 US Open, losing to Jimmy Connors and in the quarterfinals of the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, losing to Boris Becker. He was also runner-up at the inaugural Grand Slam Cup in 1990.
Gilbert was ranked among the top-ten players in the U.S. for nine of his first ten years on the professional tour. His career win–loss record in singles play was 519–288.
Among his upsets of players ranked in the world's top 3 were his defeat of No. 2 Boris Becker, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, in Cincinnati in 1989, No. 2 Edberg, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4, in Los Angeles in 1991, No. 3 Sampras, 6–3, 6–4, in London in 1992, and No. 3 Jim Courier, 6–4, 6–4, at Memphis in 1994, Edberg, 6–4, 2–6, 7–6, in Cincinnati in 1989, and perhaps most significantly, No. 2 John McEnroe, 5–7, 6–4, 6–1, at the Masters Grand Prix in 1985, which sent McEnroe into his first six-month break from tennis.

### Style of play

Unlike many other professional players of his era, Gilbert did not have a major offensive weapon such as an overpowering serve or forehand. His best asset was his ability to keep the ball in play. He hit the ball most often at a slow but accurate pace and was sometimes called a pusher.
Gilbert kept an open stance and did not turn much during the swing at the baseline. This enabled him to control the game through oversight and tempo, despite his defensive style. He built his game around destroying his opponent's rhythm. He forced his opponent into long rallies by hitting the ball high over the net and deep into his opponent's court. If an opponent employed a slow pace, Gilbert attacked decisively, often at the net. He was one of the sport's top strategists as a player. Although he was easy to get along with outside the court, Gilbert was a fierce competitor with a sometimes annoying style of play, focusing on his opponent's weaknesses. Both his style of play and his mental approach brought him wins over the world's top players and kept him near the top 10 for six years. The title of Gilbert's 1994 nonfiction book, Winning Ugly, was a self-deprecating nod to his unorthodox but successful tennis career.

### Davis Cup

Gilbert compiled a 10–5 record in Davis Cup play from 1986 to 1993, with a 7–1 record on hard courts and carpet.

### Olympics

Gilbert won a bronze medal in men's singles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

## ATP career finals
### Singles: 40 (20 titles, 20 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Finals (0–2)
* ATP Masters 1000 Series (1–3)
* ATP 500 Series (0–3)
* ATP 250 Series (19–12)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (17–14)
* Clay (0–1)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (3–5)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoors (13–10)
* Indoors (7–10)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Nov 1982 | Taipei, Taiwan | Grand Prix | Carpet | Craig Wittus | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–0 | Aug 1984 | Columbus, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Hank Pfister | 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Sep 1984 | San Francisco, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | John McEnroe | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–1 | Nov 1984 | Taipei, Taiwan | Grand Prix | Carpet | Wally Masur | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 4–1 | Jul 1985 | Livingston, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Brian Teacher | 4–6, 7–5, 6–0 |
| Win | 5–1 | Aug 1985 | Cleveland, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Brad Drewett | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5–2 | Sep 1985 | Stuttgart, West Germany | Grand Prix | Clay | Ivan Lendl | 4–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 5–3 | Oct 1985 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Grand Prix | Hard | Matt Anger | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 6–3 | Oct 1985 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Grand Prix | Hard | Amos Mansdorf | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 7–3 | Feb 1986 | Memphis, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Stefan Edberg | 7–5, 7–6$^{(7–3)}$ |
| Win | 8–3 | Jul 1986 | Livingston, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Mike Leach | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 9–3 | Oct 1986 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Grand Prix | Hard | Aaron Krickstein | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 10–3 | Oct 1986 | Vienna, Austria | Grand Prix | Hard | Karel Nováček | 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–0 |
| Loss | 10–4 | Aug 1987 | Washington, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Ivan Lendl | 1–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 11–4 | Oct 1987 | Scottsdale, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Eliot Teltscher | 6–3, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 11–5 | Oct 1987 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Grand Prix | Hard | Amos Mansdorf | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 11–6 | Nov 1987 | Paris, France | Grand Prix | Carpet | Tim Mayotte | 6–2, 3–6, 5–7, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 3–6 |
| Loss | 11–7 | Nov 1987 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Grand Prix | Hard | Pat Cash | 6–7$^{(7–9)}$, 6–4, 6–2, 0–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 12–7 | Oct 1988 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Grand Prix | Hard | Aaron Krickstein | 4–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–2 |
| Loss | 12–8 | Oct 1988 | Paris, France | Grand Prix | Carpet | Amos Mansdorf | 3–6, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 13–8 | Feb 1989 | Memphis, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Johan Kriek | 6–2, 6–2, ret. |
| Loss | 13–9 | Mar 1989 | Dallas, United States | Grand Prix | Carpet | John McEnroe | 3–6, 3–6, 6–7$^{(3–7)}$ |
| Loss | 13–10 | Jul 1989 | Washington, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Tim Mayotte | 6–3, 4–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 14–10 | Aug 1989 | Stratton Mountain, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Jim Pugh | 7–5, 6–0 |
| Win | 15–10 | Aug 1989 | Livingston, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Jason Stoltenberg | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 16–10 | Aug 1989 | Cincinnati, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Stefan Edberg | 6–4, 2–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ |
| Win | 17–10 | Oct 1989 | San Francisco, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Anders Järryd | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Loss | 17–11 | Oct 1989 | Orlando, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Andre Agassi | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 18–11 | Mar 1990 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | World Series | Carpet | Jonas Svensson | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 19–11 | Apr 1990 | Orlando, United States | World Series | Hard | Christo van Rensburg | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Loss | 19–12 | Aug 1990 | Cincinnati, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Stefan Edberg | 1–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 20–12 | Sep 1990 | Brisbane, Australia | World Series | Hard | Aaron Krickstein | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 20–13 | Dec 1990 | Munich, Germany | World Series | Carpet | Pete Sampras | 3–6, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 20–14 | Feb 1991 | San Francisco, United States | World Series | Carpet | Darren Cahill | 2–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Loss | 20–15 | Aug 1991 | Los Angeles, United States | World Series | Hard | Pete Sampras | 2–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 3–6 |
| Loss | 20–16 | Oct 1991 | Sydney, Australia | Championship Series | Hard | Stefan Edberg | 2–6, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 20–17 | Mar 1992 | Scottsdale, United States | World Series | Hard | Stefano Pescosolido | 0–6, 6–1, 4–6 |
| Loss | 20–18 | Feb 1993 | San Francisco, United States | World Series | Hard | Andre Agassi | 2–6, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 2–6 |
| Loss | 20–19 | Apr 1993 | Tokyo, Japan | Championship Series | Hard | Pete Sampras | 2–6, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 20–20 | Feb 1994 | Memphis, United States | Championship Series | Hard | Todd Martin | 4–6, 5–7 |

### Doubles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
* ATP Masters 1000 Series (1–0)
* ATP 500 Series (0–0)
* ATP 250 Series (2–3)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (3–1)
* Clay (0–0)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–2)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoors (3–1)
* Indoors (0–2)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 1985 | San Francisco, United States | Grand Prix | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | Paul Annacone Christo van Rensburg | 6–3, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Oct 1985 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Grand Prix | Hard | Ilie Năstase | Michael Robertson Florin Segărceanu | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 2–1 | Feb 1986 | Miami, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Vincent Van Patten | Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd | walkover |
| Loss | 2–2 | Oct 1986 | Vienna, Austria | Grand Prix | Carpet | Slobodan Živojinović | Ricardo Acioly Wojtek Fibak | walkover |
| Loss | 2–3 | Sep 1987 | Los Angeles, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Tim Wilkison | Kevin Curren David Pate | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–3 | Apr 1992 | Hong Kong, Hong Kong | World Series | Hard | Jim Grabb | Byron Black Byron Talbot | 6–2, 6–1 |

## Performance timelines

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |

### Singles

| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 1R | 4R | 3R | NH | 3R | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 0 / 7 | 6–7 | 46% |
| French Open | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | A | 0 / 8 | 5–8 | 38% |
| Wimbledon | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | 4R | 3R | A | 1R | QF | 3R | A | 2R | 2R | A | 0 / 10 | 17–10 | 63% |
| US Open | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 4R | QF | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 4R | 4R | A | A | 0 / 12 | 20–12 | 63% |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 2–4 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 6–2 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 6–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0 / 37 | 48–37 | 56% |
| National Representation ||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | NH | NH | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | SF | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 1 | 4–1 | 80% |
| Year-end Championships ||||||||||||||||||
| WCT Finals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 1R | A | SF | F | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | 50% |
| ATP Finals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | QF | A | SF | A | RR | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 0 / 3 | 5–3 | 63% |
| Grand Slam Cup | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | F | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 0 / 1 | 3–1 | 75% |
| ATP Masters Series ||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | 3R | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 5 | 6–5 | 55% |
| Miami | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 4R | A | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | 3R | 1R | 0 / 8 | 8–8 | 50% |
| Monte Carlo | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Rome | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Canada | 1R | 1R | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | QF | 3R | W | F | QF | 3R | QF | 1R | A | 1 / 8 | 24–7 | 77% |
| Paris | A | A | A | A | A | F | F | QF | 3R | 2R | 3R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 7 | 13–7 | 65% |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 10–3 | 6–2 | 11–2 | 9–6 | 4–5 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1 / 37 | 56–36 | 61% |

### Doubles

| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Grand Slam tournaments |||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 0–3 | 0% |
| French Open | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% |
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | 1R | 0 / 5 | 1–5 | 17% |
| US Open | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 5 | 1–5 | 17% |
| Win–loss | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0 / 16 | 3–16 | 16% |
| ATP Masters Series |||||||||||||
| Miami | A | 3R | W | QF | A | A | 2R | A | A | 1 / 4 | 12–3 | 80% |
| Rome | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | QF | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Canada | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | QF | 1R | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | 50% |
| Paris | A | A | A | QF | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 6–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1 / 12 | 19–11 | 63% |

## Halls of Fame

Gilbert is a member of the USTA Northern California Hall of Fame, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Gilbert is also a 1999 inductee into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame.
Gilbert was inducted in 2001 into the ITA Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 1996 into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Gilbert was a 2001 inductee into the Marblehead Boosters Hall of Fame.

## Coaching career

Gilbert retired as a player in 1995. Since 1994, he has been successful as a tennis coach. This success has often been associated with the extraordinary tactical abilities exhibited during his own matches.

### Andre Agassi

Gilbert was the coach of Andre Agassi for eight years, from March 1994 until January 2002. Agassi won six of his eight majors when Gilbert was his coach. Agassi described Gilbert as "the greatest coach of all time".

### Andy Roddick

On June 3, 2003, Gilbert became the coach of Andy Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open under Gilbert's guidance, as well as clinching the year-end world no. 1 for 2003 and reaching the 2004 Wimbledon final. They parted ways on December 12, 2004.

### Andy Murray

On July 26, 2006, Gilbert was announced as taking over the coaching duties of Scottish player Andy Murray. As well as coaching Murray, Gilbert took part, pursuant to a 3-year deal, in other British Lawn Tennis Association programmes, including tennis camps at under-12 and under-14 levels. He also worked with the LTA's network of coaches and its high-performance clubs and academies. On November 14, 2007, after 16 months working together, Gilbert and Murray parted company. By then, Murray had reached a then career-high ranking of no. 8.

### Alex Bogdanović

In November 2007 it was announced that Gilbert would work for 20 weeks in 2008 for Britain's Lawn Tennis Association, concentrating mostly on coaching Britain's no. 2, Alex Bogdanović, and others in his age group. Bogdanović said he was "unbelievably excited" at the chance of spending time with Gilbert. Roger Draper, the LTA's chief executive, said: "We have set Brad a new challenge of getting Alex into the top 100 and also 'upskilling' our coaches and inspiring the next generation to follow in Andy's footsteps."

### Kei Nishikori

While still being committed to his TV items, in December 2010 it was announced that Gilbert would return to coaching, and partner with Kei Nishikori of Japan for 15 tournaments in the 2011 season. Gilbert's partnership with Nishikori concluded at the end of the 2011 season.

### Sam Querrey

In February 2012, it was announced that Gilbert would work with American Sam Querrey on a trial basis in 2012.

### Coco Gauff

In August 2023, Gilbert joined the team of Coco Gauff. She had a strong showing in her first tournaments since the change, winning the women's singles title at the Washington Open, the Cincinnati Masters shortly thereafter, and her first major win at the 2023 US Open. On 18 September 2024, just over two weeks after her US Open defense ended with a fourth round defeat, the pair ended their arrangement.

## Commentator and author

Gilbert now serves as a tennis analyst for ESPN. He is also the author of the book Winning Ugly, which gives tips on how an average player can defeat a more skilled opponent and better the average player's mental game. His second book, co-authored by James Kaplan and entitled I've Got Your Back, was published in 2005.

## Personal life

Gilbert is Jewish and resides with his wife Kim in Malibu, California. They have three children—Zach, Julian, and Zoe.
He owns a tennis shop in Greenbrae, California called Brad Gilbert Tennis Nation. He was a close friend of tennis player and commentator Barry MacKay.
While covering Andy Murray's third-round match in the 2011 Australian Open for ESPN, Gilbert mentioned that he lives near the Olympian runner Michael Johnson and that when he was Murray's coach he introduced Johnson and Murray, who did a series of sprints together on a nearby track.