Related items

• WTA Finals: Gauff never gave up hope in topsy turvy showpiece

  Coco Gauff explained how she kept her cool despite the helter-skelter nature of her WTA Finals clash with Qinwen Zheng.

  Gauff prevailed 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in Riyadh on Saturday to become the youngest WTA Finals champion since 2004.

  She was pushed all the way by Olympic champion Zheng, who led 5-3 at one stage in the decider and also clawed back four matchpoints before Gauff eventually got over the line.

  "Tired, it's been a hard season," Gauff told Sky Sports after her victory.

  "It was a really great match. Qinwen played some unbelievable tennis. I was just trying my best to hang in there and I never gave up.

  "I was just telling myself, 'It's another point, another chance'. I've been in situations like this in the past and have been able to turn it around, and was able to do it again."

  Gauff is the first player since Serena Williams (12, between 2013 and 2015) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals.

  The 20-year-old collapsed on the court after her winning shot, something the American quipped she had mentally reserved for grand slam victories.

  "At the end of the match, when I, like, fell on the floor, I didn't think I was going to do that," said Gauff, who has secured the year-end world number three ranking.

  "I made a promise to myself that I will save that for grand slams. But honestly, to the way the match went, I was like, 'I'm just tired. I just want to lay on the ground.'

  "I know I was like a couple of points away from losing, but, you know, I just tried to stay in the moment, honestly, and I'm really proud of myself."

  For Zheng, it was a case of taking the positives from the first WTA Finals showpiece match that had to be settled by a third-set tie-break/

  She said: "The match was very close, and then, you know, at the end, when you play this type of match, it's not about tennis, it's just about choices on court.

  "When you lose a match, there's lessons you have to learn. So I would say it's a lot of positive things, because it's my first WTA Finals, but at the same time, I feel hurt to lose this match. But we will see. Maybe next time I will be better."

• WTA Finals: Gauff downs Zheng to clinch title

  Coco Gauff triumphed over Qinwen Zheng after three sets to become the youngest WTA Finals champion in 20 years.

  Having fallen behind in Saturday's final in Riyadh, Gauff bounced back to prevail 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

  Gauff had squandered two match points when 6-5, 40-15 up in the decider, with Zheng clawing back to force a tie-break.

  Yet, the American rediscovered her composure to cruise into a 5-0 lead, and though she saw another two match points fall by the wayside, Gauff got the job done at the fifth time of asking.

  A short Zheng return clipped the top of the net, with Gauff scrambling from the baseline to meet it before flicking a forehand to the left of her opponent, with this year's Olympic champion unable to get there.

  Gauff, who beat Iga Swiatek in the group stage and downed world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, collapsed to the court in celebration, after winning what was the second-longest WTA Tour-level final of 2024.

  Data Debrief: It's a marathon, not a sprint

  Zheng made a blistering start, but despite going a break up in the second set, she could not maintain the momentum.

  Gauff's wobble in the decider meant the WTA Finals championship match had to be decided by a third-set tie-break for the first time since the tournament's introduction in 1972.

  At 20, Gauff is the youngest player to win the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2004, and the youngest American champion of the event since Serena Williams in 2001.

  Only Nancy Richey and Anna Smashnova (10 each) have won more titles after their first 10 WTA Tour-level finals than Gauff (nine) in the Open Era.

  Meanwhile, she is the first player since Williams (12, between the 2013 US Open and 2015 Cincinnati Open) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals, and the youngest to do so since Martina Hingis in 1998.

• WTA Finals: Gauff sees off Sabalenka to set up Zheng meeting in showpiece

  Coco Gauff saw off world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets and is now just one win away from taking the WTA Finals crown.

  The American, who also beat Iga Swiatek on her run to the final, handed the Belarusian a second consecutive loss in Riyadh as she triumphed 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in one hour and 49 minutes on Friday.

  The pair traded blows in the opening set, with Sabalenka getting the first break in the third game, only for Gauff to follow her lead in the next.

  The world number three forced the tie-break, and she had to hold her nerve to take the first set as Sabalenka had fought back from 6-1 down.

  Gauff's momentum carried her into a 4-1 lead in the second set but that run was halted despite valiantly defending six break points in the next as Sabalenka attempted to start a comeback.

  They traded more breaks, but Gauff had already done enough, avenging her defeats to Sabalenka in the Australian Open and Wuhan Open semi-finals to reach the championship match, where she will face Zheng Qinwen for the prize. 

  Data Debrief: Young guns pave the way

  It has been an impressive WTA Finals for Gauff so far, and this victory means she has become the youngest player to defeat the world number one and number two at the tournament since Kim Clijsters in 2002 (Serena and Venus Williams).

  She is also the youngest WTA Finals finalist since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

  In fact, Gauff and Zheng will have the youngest combined age for the two finalists at the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams in 2004, at just 42 years and 271 days. 

  Sabalenka already knew she would be the year-end number one before entering these Finals, but she finishes the year on a slightly dour note, having lost consecutive matches for the first time since 2022 (against Donna Vekic in San Diego and Liudmila Samsonova in Guadalajara).