By Howard Fendrich, Associated Press
Coco Gauff pays attention to what people say about her online and occasionally takes pleasure in clapping back, so it should not be a surprise that she took to social media to type out a message after wrapping up 2024 by winning the WTA Finals and the $4.8 million check that came with it.
“lol safe to say I beat the bad season allegations,” Gauff wrote.
After defeating the women ranked Nos. 1 and 2 — Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek — earlier in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Gauff got past Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Saturday [November 16th] in the title match. That allowed the No. 3 Gauff to close her year with a 54-17 record and three trophies.
“The key is when you reach a low, the only way you can go is up,” Gauff explained. “So at that point, I just said, ‘Well, I have to get better at some things, and just try to do that.’ Being a tennis player, you can’t miss a bunch of tournaments just to practice — I mean, you can, but I didn’t want to do that; I didn’t want to take that route — so I just decided to be willing to accept the losses and wins while working on things.”
One significant improvement: Gauff averaged 4.6 double-faults across her five matches at the WTA Finals, certainly much better than at the U.S. Open.
In Saturday’s [November 16th] final, Gauff produced more aces (five) than double-faults (four) and turned in a higher first-serve percentage (64 to 62) and a higher winning percentage on first-serve points (70 to 62) than Zheng, one of the tour’s top servers.
Gauff’s run included those victories over Sabalenka (in the semifinals) and Swiatek (in round-robin play), making the American the youngest player to win against the top two women at one tournament since Maria Sharapova at the 2006 U.S. Open.
“She’s a fighter,” Sabalenka said about Gauff.
The final was a serious test of wills — the first WTA Finals championship match settled by a third-set tiebreaker, and, at 3 hours, 4 minutes, more than a half-hour longer than any title match at the event since record-keeping began in 2008.
At this still-early stage in her career, Gauff seems to be making good choices on and off the court. Her response to, and rebound from, what happened in New York illustrates that.
“Playing the best of the best,” Gauff said, “makes me feel confident in my game.”
