By Chris Oddo | Saturday March 26, 2016
American Nicole Gibbs is keeping it real, both virtually and in the traditional sense.
Photo Source: Christopher Levy
American Nicole Gibbs made her Twitter followers take notice this week when she made her case, fervently and eloquently, for equal prize money in tennis. She’s become an outspoken leader on social media in the wake of the Raymond Moore controversy Indian Wells, and took part in a press conference featuring Chris Evert and Billie Jean King that is garnering headlines globally this week.
But Gibbs isn’t just a rising on social media, the two-time NCAA champion is also climbing the rankings in that other, less virtual reality known simply as “the show.”
A.K.A the WTA Tour.
Gibbs has won 12 of her last 14 matches (including qualifiers) and has climbed to a career-best ranking of 74 in the world this week. At Miami, she has backed up a round of 16 appearance that saw her upset Madison Keys with a trip to the third round and another upset, this time over Kristina Mladenovic, who was seeded 27th.
The Cincinnati native has had time to learn the ropes on the pro tour, and in 2016 her hard work is paying off—she’s nearly doubled her total of Tour-level wins in less than three months, going 9-4 (she was 12-23 heading into this season).
Gibbs unselfishly credits a relationship with coach Roger Smith for fast-tracking her progress. “I am working with Roger Smith, and he has turned my game around,” Gibbs said last week at Indian Wells. “We started at US Open. I had a pretty good fall in the challengers, and it just has felt like a really linear improvement for me. So I think he's helping me to see the game differently. I'm not crediting myself with that. But, yeah, he's done a really good job and we make a good team. I think that's showing in our results right now.”
Gibbs says that Smith, who has also coached Sloane Stephens, has helped her both emotionally and tactically. “We get along really well, which hasn't always been the case with my coaches in the past,” Gibbs said. “I can be really stubborn. I can be a little difficult sometimes. He's been really great in that sense. And then he just knows the game so well. Sees it so well. Gives me unbelievable game plans. You know, we have just been working really hard on making me more of an all-court player and a little bit less defensive.”
The American, whose home base is in Marina Del Ray, California, is not a big hitter and needs to come up with creative ways to match up against some of the more powerful WTA stars. This year Gibbs seems to be embracing the concept that the best defense is a good offense.
“That's something that I have been integrating into my game,” Gibbs says. “I definitely want to be a little bit maybe more aggressive than [some of the tour’s defense-first players] at times, but that's kind of what I'm looking to do, be more of an all-court player.”
On Sunday Gibbs will lock horns with No. 4-seeded Garbine Muguruza in Miami. The 23-year-old is still searching for an elusive Top-10 win (she’s gone 0-6 vs. the Top-20 lifetime). Whether or not she manages what would be a colossal upset, it’s clear that she’s on the path to higher ground, both on social media and on court.