Coco Gauff experienced highs and lows en route to winning her first WTA Finals trophy.
American Coco Gauff celebrates winning the WTA Finals after defeating China’s Zheng Qingwen in the women’s singles final. The 20-year-old is the youngest player to win a WTA season final in 20 years.
American Coco Gauff has had a disappointing summer, but the youngster was able to celebrate by lifting her first WTA Finals trophy and regaining her confidence to end the year on a high after a string of disappointing defeats.
The 20-year-old showed his mettle in the final in Riyadh as she won 3-6 6-4 7-6(2) in a hard-fought match that lasted three hours and four minutes against China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qingwen.
Gauff’s first WTA Finals title was made all the sweeter by her mid-year derailment. Efforts to rebuild her serve led to repeated disappointments and coaching shake-up on the tour.
“It’s been a long season,” Gauff said with the gleaming silver trophy in her hand in Riyadh, thanking her family and team for sticking with her through the ups and the downs.
Gauff’s year started well with a win in Auckland and a place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. However, the season began to go downhill after losing in the fourth round at Wimbledon and the third round at the Paris Olympics.
After surprising qualifying rounds in Toronto and Cincinnati, the US Open champion failed to defend her title, exiting New York after suffering 19 double faults and a heartbreaking fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro.
Working with coach Brad Gilbert, Gauff flipped the script a few weeks later but won her second WTA 1000 title at the China Open last month before reaching the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open.
It was clear she was back to her best form when she beat her main rival, Polish no.2 Iga Swiatek, in the group stage in Riyadh to advance to her first match against top-ranked Aryna of Belarus Sabalenka.
Gauff is the youngest player to win a season-ending WTA final since Maria Sharapova 20 years ago. She left the first profession women’s tennis tournament in Saudi Arabia with a fortune of more than $4.8 million and a WTA title at all levels.
