Gauff overcomes Zheng to win maiden WTA Finals title in extraordinary final
The American came through 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) against Zheng after more than three hours to win her first WTA Finals title
Coco Gauff wins the 2024 WTA Finals STR/AP/SIPA
Coco Gauff came through an epic encounter against Zheng Qinwen, beating the Chinese No 1 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) to win her maiden WTA Finals title in a breathtaking final of superb quality and pulsating drama.
The match oscillated sharply between sheer brilliance and nerve-induced, error-strewn service games in a remarkable fashion as both players struggled to consistently hold serve.
Indeed, Zheng served for the match late in the deciding set but could not cling on to the hold as Gauff’s irrepressible tenacity once again came to the fore to help deliver the American the most significant title of her young career after her home triumph at the 2023 US Open.
scintillating final gives wta season a fitting finish
Both started well, in a high-octane and breathless opening to the match. Gauff in particular was applying relentless pressure to Zheng’s serve, especially in a lengthy fifth game that saw three break points come and go for the American.
But the Chinese No 1 held firm in highly impressive fashion, before leaping on an unexpectedly loose service game from Gauff, breaking her opponent to love in that eighth game courtesy of two double-faults before serving out for a one-set lead.
With momentum on her side, Zheng broke serve for a second time in the first game of the middle set to consolidate her grip on the final.
At a set and a break down, Gauff was under immense pressure to stay within touching distant. With a couple of much-needed holds of serve for the American, she then produced a brilliant return game to break Zheng’s serve to love in the sixth game and restore parity at 3-3.
Gauff then broke again in the eighth game following a hold of serve to move 5-3 up. But when serving for the set at 40-15 in the next game, she let slip both set points as Zheng struck back to halt the American’s surge.
But the Chinese’s serve had dropped considerably from the first set, and Gauff was able to capitalise again by securing her third break of the contest to seal the second stanza.
Sudden rapid shifts in momentum were quickly becoming a defining feature of this final, as Zheng regrouped well to land an opening break on her opponent’s serve in the deciding set.
Gauff levelled up the scores in the fourth game with a responding break of her own, before Zheng struck again in the seventh game with her fifth break of the contest.
But there was to be yet another twist in this extraordinary tale as Zheng tightened up when the finish line came into view, putting together a desperately nerve-ridden game when serving for the title at 5-4.
Gauff broke before fending off a break point in another protracted service game to guarantee herself at least a tiebreak. In scenes of pure sporting drama, Zheng then saved two championship points on her own serve in the next game, one with a blistering forehand winner in one of the points of the match.
In the title-deciding tiebreak, however, Gauff dominated. The American elevated her level quite remarkably to surge into a 6-0 lead, finally getting over the line with her fifth championship point before collapsing on her back having clinched the second-biggest title of her career.
“That was a great match, I was just trying my best to hang in there and I never gave up,” Gauff told Sky Sports in a post-match interview.
“Sometimes you can think you’re not going to win but I just pushed that thought away. I was telling myself, ‘another point, another chance’.
“I’ve been in situations like this in the past where I’ve been able to turn it around and I just hoped I could do it again today.”
Zheng will leave Riyadh bitterly disappointed not to have come away with the title, having served for the championship and having played so well all week.
But she can reflect on a golden season, especially her efforts in the latter half of the year. Zheng ends 2024 as the Olympic champion, a three-time title winner and very much established within the upper echelons of the sport’s elite.
Women’s tennis is in an even healthier place due to Zheng’s arrival at the top table, and she can build upon an excellent season next year when she will be a perennial threat – especially across the many hard and clay-court tournaments.
But today belongs to her opponent.
gauff ends season with welcome return to form
At just 20 years of age, Gauff becomes the youngest winner of the season-ending showpiece for 20 years, finishing an excellent end to the year with the ultimate flourish after a somewhat mixed season.
She is the fourth American woman to win the WTA Finals before turning the age of 21 as she continues to blossom into a potential all-time great of this sport.
Despite reaching back-to-back Grand Slam semi-finals in Melbourne and Paris, Gauff fell in the fourth rounds of both Wimbledon and the US Open before parting ways with coach Brad Gilbert following a disappointing summer.
In the closing months of the season, however, the American has returned to her usual sky-high standards, winning the 1000-level title in Wuhan before a magnificent finish here in Riyadh during which she knocked out both the world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and the Olympic gold medallist in today’s final. She also finally arrested her desperately poor run of form against Iga Swiatek, defeating the defending champion for just the second time in their group-stage clash.
There is no doubt that Gauff will once again be a huge threat to the likes of Sabalenka and the Pole at the majors next season.
Can hopes rise for positive change in saudi arabia?
This year’s WTA Finals were marred in controversy. As the first major WTA event held in Saudi Arabia, critics pointed to the Kingdom’s poor human rights record, while advocates highlighted the opportunity to enact change in this region.
Crowd numbers were disappointingly low at the start of the week, but the final two days have seen something close to full attendance and vocal audience engagement as all cross-sections of society have turned out in large numbers.
Just what impact this and future WTA tournaments can have on Saudi Arabi remains to be seen, but what is abundantly clear is that this final was a wonderful advert for women’s sport in an area of the world that most needs it.
This match was a shining example of two female sporting icons both operating at some of the highest levels reachable in tennis, and the gripping theatre that is produced when they do. They went toe-to-toe in a three-hour-plus marathon that had the entire packed stadium in raptures. All in a country where only since 2018 have women been allowed to drive.
That surely must be a positive thing, despite the very urgent need for change that is still required in Saudi Arabia. The concerns about the location and symbolism of this tournament prior to the event were very justified and must be maintained until there is concrete evidence that tennis is driving healthy progression in the country.
But, with a role model like Gauff as the queen of Riyadh in 2024 – an intelligent young woman who actively advocates for positive progress in society – perhaps the possibility for sport to be a catalyst for change in this region does indeed have some hope after all.
