Gauff survives first-set defeat to win first WTA finals title

Coco Gauff recovered after losing the first set of her finals match against Qinwen Zheng to win the three-set match 3-6 6-4 7-6(7-2), crowning her as the new WTA Finals champion. The season-ending event, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the first professional women’s match to do so, featured some of the best in women’s tennis, including the top-two ranked women, both of whom Gauff had to face on the route to the final. 

The win is coming weeks after her last title at the China Open. Gauff, who is currently ranked number three in the world, defeated Iga Swiatek in the group stage, before beating Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, a day before her match with Zheng. 

The match began with Zheng taking the first set after breaking Gauff in the eighth game. Despite Gauff’s attempts to seize control, she squandered five break points, allowing Zheng to secure a 6-3 lead. However, Gauff rebounded in the second set, breaking Zheng twice to level the match at one set apiece.

In the third set, Gauff had a tough time, trailing 5-3 and staring down championship points against her. Yet, as tenacious as ever, she broke back and pushed the set into a tiebreaker. Gauff dominated the tiebreak, winning six consecutive points to clinch the match after three hours of intense play.

Speaking after the match, she said: “I was just telling myself, ‘It’s another point, another chance’. I’ve been in situations like this in the past and have been able to turn it around… and was able to do it again.”

With the win, Gauff earned $4.8 million in prize money, ending the 2024 season on a very high note. The 2023 US Open winner is also the first American to win the WTA Finals since Serena Williams did so back in 2014.