Ahead of the WTA Finals, all the eyes were on Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka as the battle to end the year as the World Number 1 heated up. Despite Sabalenka having a healthy lead, a solid performance in Riyadh would have enabled Swiatek to overtake her rival. However, Coco Gauff has sealed the fate in Sabalenka’s favor as she defeated Iga Swiatek in a thrilling match today in Riyadh. With this, Sabalenka will end the year as the World Number 1 irrespective of the results of her match.

Swiatek, who is the defending champion at the WTA Finals, needed to win each of her matches to have a chance to overtake Sabalenka. However, with today’s loss, she has lost the opportunity to take the Number 1 spot from her even if Swiatek wins the title. Further, Gauff’s serve, usually considered her biggest weakness, was on fire today as she defeated Swiatek in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Although Gauff committed 11 double faults, she won almost 60% of her service points against Swiatek’s less than 50%. This became a turning point in the match as the Pole found Gauff’s game too hot to handle on the day.

Moreover, it was a historic win for Gauff as she clinched just her second win over Swiatek in 13 attempts. Her first win against the same opponent came back in 2023 at the Cincinnati Open where she defeated Swiatek in the semifinals in a three-setter thriller.

With Gauff’s win, the group is nicely poised after Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jessica Pegula earlier in the day. Nonetheless, Gauff has almost qualified for the semifinals and she is looking to follow in the legacy of the likes of Serena and Venus Williams.

Coco Gauff wants to channel the Williams sisters

Between Serena and Venus Williams, the two have won 6 WTA Finals titles. They were a force to reckon with on the WTA Tour, winning every big title. Gauff, who considers them as her idols, wants to follow in their footsteps and recreate that legacy. However, it is not just the achievements on the court that Gauff wants to emulate.

During an interview, she described Venus Williams’ impact and styling on the court, saying, “Obviously I’m someone who wears braids a lot, and seeing that she (Venus Williams) was able to do that 30 years ago, maybe where the space wasn’t as receptive of this type of hair, is important. Just her legacy, I hope to do half of what she’s done for, not only just tennis, but prize money equality, women’s equality, racial equality, all of that. She’s someone that I look up to a lot when it comes to that.”

While it was Gauff’s day out today, Swiatek would be disappointed to have missed out on a chance to regain the World Number 1 spot from Sabalenka. However, Swiatek’s campaign isn’t done yet as she will take on Jessica Pegula in her final group stage game, with a chance to make it to the semifinals at stake.