Coco Gauff of Atlanta, Georgia became the seventh American to win the WTA Finals in singles on Saturday. In the final from King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Gauff the third seed, defeated 2024 Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng of China, the seventh seed, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.
It was a dominant third set tiebreak for Gauff, as she beat Zheng 7-2 in the third set tiebreak. Gauff had the marginal service advantage, as she had five aces, while Zheng had four aces.
Gauff finished in second place in the Orange Group with a record of two wins and one loss. She defeated Iga Swiatek of Poland, 6-3, 6-4, and Jessica Pegula of the United States, 6-3, 6-2. Gauff’s only loss in the Orange Group came to Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-4. In the semifinals, Gauff then beat Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the new women’s tennis world number one, 7-6, 6-3 in the semifinals.
In 2024, Gauff has won three WTA events. She won the final of the 2024 Auckland Open in New Zealand, where she beat Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, and then the final of the China Open, where she beat Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-3.
The first American to win the WTA Finals was in 1972. The champion that year was Chris Evert of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who also won in 1973, 1975, 1977. Martina Navratilova won the WTA Finals eight times (1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, and twice in 1986). Tracy Austin of Palos Verdes Peninsula, California won in 1980, Lindsay Davenport of Palos Verdes, California won in 1999, Serena Williams of Saginaw, Michigan, has won the WTA Finals five times (2001, 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2014), and Serena’s older sister Venus Williams of Lynwood, California won the 2008 WTA Finals.
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