WTA Finals: Coco has the last word

Nine days later, the 20-year-old American lifted the WTA Finals trophy at King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh, after defeating world No.2 Iga Swiatek in the group stage, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, and reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the title decider.

The final was a brutal three-hour affair that saw Gauff bounce back from 3-6, 1-3 down, and wipe a one-break deficit twice in the deciding set, before she sailed through the tiebreak to overcome Zheng 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).

“Just staying resilient, fighting for every point,” said Gauff of the key to her victory on Saturday.

“I know I was like a couple points away from losing, but I just tried to stay in the moment honestly, and I'm really proud of myself.”

She has every right to be.

By clinching the WTA Finals crown, Gauff has now won a title at every single level, from the 250s all the way to the Grand Slams, joining Swiatek as the only two active players under 30 to achieve that feat.

She is the youngest WTA Finals champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004 – the year Gauff was born – and pocketed $4.805 million, which is the biggest prize purse in tour history.

The last two months have witnessed a remarkable turnaround from Gauff, who had mixed results in 2024. The Floridian made at least the fourth round at all four majors this season, but couldn’t replicate her success from 2023 during the North American summer hard-court swing.  

Last month at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, she stormed to the title with victories over Naomi Osaka, Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova along the way, and saved her best for last at the year-end championships in Riyadh.

Gauff admits that seeing people describe her season as a “slump” or a “flop” fuelled her to turn things around.

“I think for me it was just motivation. I'm the author of my own story, and I'm not going to let anybody write me off,” she told WTA Insider following her triumph in Saudi Arabia.

Inspiring the next generation

The WTA Finals marked the first time a professional women’s tennis tournament was held in the kingdom and Gauff hopes she was able to provide the local Saudi community with ample inspiration to pick up a racquet and chase their dreams.

“That's why I wanted to come here. There's never been a professional women's tennis event here. And just to show young girls that their dreams are possible,” said Gauff.

“I was their age watching professional tennis events in my country. And now that there's some here, I hope that when I retire, there'll be like maybe a Saudi Grand Slam champion or WTA Finals champion.

"And I think if that happens, then I did my job and the rest of the players who played the first event here, did their job.”

Having taken down the world’s top-two last week, and with her confidence sky-high from a well-deserved success at the WTA Finals, is the No.1 ranking on Gauff’s mind moving forward?

“I've never been a ranking focused person. I just want Slams,” said Gauff. “But obviously, yeah, I know I have that possibility, especially next year, if I have a great year. But, it'll be cool. Honestly, it's not on my mind. I just want to rack up the Slam trophies.”

Historic season for Zheng

She lost an agonisingly close match, but Zheng walks away from Riyadh with plenty to celebrate.

The 22-year-old finished her season with a 31-6 win-loss run – a stretch that began after Wimbledon and saw her clinch titles in Palermo, the Olympics, and Tokyo.

No woman has won more matches than Zheng during that second half of the season and she was a mere couple of points away from defeating Gauff in the final in Riyadh.

“It hurts to lose this match of course but I think it’s better I forget it and move on for my next steps,” said Zheng, who concludes her 2024 campaign ranked a career-high No.5 in the world.

The tour-leader in aces this season, Zheng was the first Chinese player to qualify for the WTA Finals since Li Na in 2013, and she replicated her compatriot’s feat by placing runner-up at the event.

“I think the positive things is that I fight whatever happens on court. And then I had a great season. It's my first time WTA finals. And even though the final didn’t go my way, I still got lot of things to learn. You know, this is tennis. It's like you fight, but not always you are the one,” said Zheng, reflecting on her week in Riyadh.

“But if you always keep going and keep in that spot, you will get your chance, I think. Tennis-wise, of course, always I need to improve. But just stay strong, and let's see.”