Coco Gauff Wins The WTA Finals in Riyadh

The top-ranked American battled past Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qin Wen to win the WTA Finals in Riyadh. They played three grueling sets going the way of Gauff, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2). The match lasted three hours and four minutes, which was the second longest WTA finals match of 2024. The 20 year old became the youngest player since 17 year old Maria Sharapova in 2004 to win the title.

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The two players played at a similar level from the start. However, Zheng was always able to get a better start, leaving Gauff to play catch-up. Gauff fought back hard after losing the first set and won the following sets from a break down in the second and regained two breaks in the third to finally clinch the win after 5 championship points. 

The world number three, Coco Gauff, also knocked out the top 2 seeds, Aryna Sabelenka and Iga Swiatek en-route to the finals. She now ends her season pocketing the biggest paycheck of 4.8 million dollars at a professional, sanctioned-tour event. It was an amazing achievement for the American given her varied form throughout the season. 

The Chinese also had a phenomenal season. Zheng will move up to a career high ranking of number 5 on Monday. In her breakthrough season, she is making history as just the second Asian woman behind compatriot Li Na to reach the WTA Finals. Though she narrowly missed the title, she had an outstanding season with a W/L record of 47/16, most notably making the Australian Open Finals and winning the Olympic Gold Medal in Paris.

The playing field is set for years to come as the top female tennis players gain consistency. We can expect a lot more of these close matches from the top players in the 2025 season.