What a match! The WTA Finals in Riyadh brought the heat as Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng squared off in an unforgettable showdown. Zheng entered the tournament with the tag of the Olympic champion. Not only that, she advanced to the final, defeating Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first semifinal. On the other hand, Coco had victories against World No. 2 Iga Swiatek and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. So, fans knew they were in for a treat, and these two stars didn’t disappoint. But what is earning widespread praise is her grit and determination to come back from the edge of defeat.

The match between Zheng and Gauff began with the Chinese star winning the toss and electing to serve. Donned in a purple pleated skirt and a matching vest top, Zheng approached the court in ultimate confidence. This was quickly witnessed in the first set of the match, where the Chinese sensation baffled her American counterpart 6-3 to enter the second set. However, Gauff did not let her motivation go down.

Known for her resilience, the 20-year-old showed why she is one of the formidable forces. She fought back in style, winning the second set 6-4 to level the match and force a third set. Zheng put the American on the back foot early in the set, where Gauff twice found herself down a break and had the victory within her reach as she served for the match at 5-4. But she was undone by four unforced errors, allowing Gauff to level, and the American was dominant through the tiebreak, eventually winning it 7-6(2) to clinch the victory (3-6 6-4 7-6 (2)).

Amid praises from the likes of Chris Evert, the latest to join the chorus is Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams’ former coach, who is giving Gauff her well-deserved kudos. Taking to her X account, Stubbs wrote, “@CocoGauff let out that come on at 0-2 to win the game & that changed the momentum. For all the kids out there, let your opponent know you’re not going away without a fight. This is a great example of that but Zheng fighting back now, kept her composure. Terrific match here.” Indeed! Look how she remained calm in the face of adversity.

While Gauff’s serve has been a major problem throughout the year, she shot only two Double Faults in the first set and none in the second. Gauff’s triumph brings with it whopping prize money of over 4.8 million dollars, the largest single prize in WTA history, according to the Tennis Channel. But that was not the only time Coco made it to the records book. In fact, the match itself was a record.

Gauff, 20, and Zheng, 22, were also the youngest pair to appear in the final of the tournament since 2004 when a 17-year-old Sharapova defeated a 23-year-old Serena Williams. So the win makes Coco the youngest player in 20 years to win the tournament and the youngest American to win it since Serena (2001). And Coco did have an eye for the records.

“I asked (about the record) as soon as I got the match,” Gauff said of the historically young final, according to the WTA. “I asked: ‘Was this the youngest? It has to be some kind of record.’ I asked the Sky team, what was the answer. They didn’t have it, but that’s good to know. It was 2004. The year I was born was the last time, so in my lifetime, basically, I’ve never seen it. That’s pretty cool. It just shows age is a number both ways, old and young,” Coco revealed her excitement.

In each match of the tournament, Coco has shown remarkable improvement. Take the semifinal against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. In their last encounter before this in Wuhan Open Coco took Sabalenka to three sets despite striking a career-high 21 double faults. Sabalenka edged her out in the end, winning 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. But the result could have been different had she minimized her serving errors. Coco did not falter to apply the learning in her rematch against Sabalenka.

Coco played remarkably from the service line and the baseline. She was confident in her forehand to beat Sabalenka with pace, while deploying her speed to extend points. Gauff outpaced Sabalenka in the winner column in the tight opening set, hitting 11 to six. Sabalenka struck 18 forehand unforced errors. Both broke twice in the opening set, but Gauff maintained pressure, generating six break points to Sabalenka’s three.

Stubbs was surely keeping an eye over all the developments. Even before the Semis, she had also praised Coco’s win over Iga. She reflected on the entirety of the match and posted multiple comments depicting Gauff’s dominance during her match against the former World No. 1. Gauff surprised many in the tennis community by handing Swiatek only the second defeat in 14 matches they played against each other.

Taking to X when Gauff was just about to win the match, she wrote, “Coco hits no DFs and wins her serve to love. She is by far the better player today from the back of the court….Iga serving to stay in the match.” She also reflected upon the intensity of the match and slammed critics who call Women’s tennis boring.

“This tennis is REAL good from @CocoGauff and @iga_swiatek !! Also if i read 1 more thing on this site about women’s tennis not being entertaining or worth watching, turn on your tv to the TC & watch this match & if you’re still negative about women’s tennis, unfollow me & ✌️👋👌!” Stubbs added. In fact, Coco herself did not stop from taking a jab at those who were writing her off.

Less double faults, better service game: Coco Gauff ‘s racket does the talk

“I just love to say I’m right. Specifically today, I got comments about how I was going to lose badly, so I was just like, ‘OK, we’ll see,’ It’s honestly just liking the idea of just proving people wrong and, and letting your racket do the talking. And so, yeah, I use it as motivation,” Coco said for the naysayers. And why not? After all, this came after she went through so much.

Coco has faced major struggles throughout the season and despite her remarkable skills, she managed to win only two titles, one at the ASB Classic and the other at the China Open. The major reason behind her setbacks was attributed to her service games but the American star played a sensational match against Zheng demonstrating that she can shine consistently at the highest level.

Gauff fired 407 double faults in 66 matches that she played throughout the season ahead of the WTA Finals, taking her average to a little over 6. She shot 21 double faults in her semifinal match against Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan Open.

However, she only shot 4 double faults in the championship match against the Chinese star today, improving her stats remarkably. Besides, she fired 5 Aces, which was one more than her counterpart’s tally of aces in the match. Gauff’s service game also highlighted her prowess with a 70% first serve win against Zheng’s 62%. 

The latest three-set victory 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) was indeed crucial for Coco Gauff’s confidence. Now with the season ending and the focus gradually moving to the next year, it will be interesting to see how well Gauff returns next season and if she wins more titles in 2025.