Coco Gauff continued her superb return to form as she stormed her way to WTA Finals success in Riyadh.
Gauff said she silenced her critics with the WTA Finals success, with the American beating Qinwen Zheng in the tournament’s final.
She overcame the Chinese star 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7-2) in Saudi Arabia, with Chris Evert impressed by Gauff’s mental toughness.
The 20-year-old secured the second-biggest title of her brief career so far in Saudi Arabia, with Gauff having won the US Open in 2023.
That Flushing Meadows success came with the help of coach Brad Gilbert, but he has since been replaced by Matt Daly.
Coco Gauff equals nine-year Serena Williams record at WTA Finals
Gauff and Daly have worked superbly so far, with the former having also won the China Open under his guidance.
And Gauff has now followed in the footsteps of tennis legend Serena Williams with her WTA Finals glory, with the former the first player since the latter to win eight or more consecutive hard court finals, as per OptaAce.
She has emulated the 12 secured by Williams between the 2013 US Open and 2015 Cincinnati Open, with Gauff also the youngest to achieve the feat since Martina Hingis in 1998.
How did Coco Gauff win the WTA Finals?
Much of the talk surrounding the WTA Finals focused on the exciting battle between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
The year-end number one spot was up for grabs during the tournament, with the Belarusian having overtaken the Pole at the very top of the pile before the action underway.
But Gauff instead stole the headlines, picking up superb group stage wins against Jessica Pegula and Swiatek.
She did lose her final group stage match to Barbora Krejcikova, but bounced back with a stunning semi-final victory over Sabalenka.
The 20-year-old then battled back to secure a fantastic comeback win over Zheng and clinch her maiden WTA Finals title.
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