Coco Gauff won the Women’s Tennis Masters, the WTA Finals, the final of which took place on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 3rd player in the world, 3rd seed, lifted the trophy after a battle of more than three hours against the Chinese Zheng Qinwen (WTA 7/N.7), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).
Gauff (20 years old) won the Women’s Masters for the first time in her career, having reached the semi-finals in 2023 but had been eliminated in the pools the previous year. It deprives Zheng, the reigning Olympic champion, of a new prestigious triumph. The Chinese woman participated in the WTA Finals for the first time at the age of 22.
The game was full of twists and turns and Coco Gauff had to draw on her resources to turn the tide. Her opponent dominated her until leading by a break in the second set. The American then woke up to return to level with three breaks in the set, but she again gave in her commitment at the start of the decisive round.
Joined by Gauff, Zheng regained a break in advance and led 5-3. When she served to win the match, the Chinese was however countered by the world No.3, who showed resourcefulness and even created two match points at 6-5. Finally, Coco Gauff concluded in the decisive tie-break, in which she won the first six points.
By adding this indoor tournament played on hard court to her record, the Florida native records a 9th singles title on the WTA circuit. She succeeds the Polish Iga Swiatek on the Women’s Masters list. The latter was eliminated in the pools this year.
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