Coco Gauff is on fire at the WTA Finals, showing the world exactly why she’s the player to watch. With every match, she’s outshining her opponents, and her recent showdown against Iga Swiatek was no exception. Coco’s run in Riyadh is turning heads and winning her fans from all corners of the tennis community. Among her latest admirers? None other than Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, who didn’t hold back in her praise for the 20-year-old.

The American sensation took on the former World No. 1 and emerged victorious in straight sets. She left Swiatek baffled on the courts to clinch the match 6-3, 6-4, overcoming a string of losses against the Pole. This was only the second match that Gauff won against Swiatek. It turned out to be a thrilling encounter with Swiatek trying to claw back in the second set and inching close to Gauff, trailing 2-3. Although she lost eventually, the match intrigued Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs, who took to her X account and slammed the critics for often taking digs at women’s tennis and calling it ‘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 wrote. Gauff’s performance throughout depicted her determination and Stubbs was quick to point this out in yet another post. 

After Gauff won the first set, Stubbs took to her X account and praised her remarkable gameplay. “Coco hit 2 DFs in the first set and wins it, if she keeps that stat low she wins. Currently has hit 3 in this first game of the 2nd set, so she must maintain her serving at a high level or this will go 3. Her tennis is too good right now to lose this match unless the DFs climb,” Stubbs wrote. Remember, Gauff has struggled significantly with her serve this year and has shot several double faults.

In the 66 matches that she played, she fired a total of 407 double faults, per the official website of the WTA Tour. It took her average double faults to over 6 per match. And while this was reflected in her latest match against Swiatek again where she hit 11 double faults, she eventually managed to clinch victory. And this once again drew Stubbs to X to laud the player in another post. Talking about one of the games in the second set where Gauff didn’t commit any double faults, Stubbs 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.” This, however, is not the first time when Stubbs has lauded Gauff’s sensational skills. 

On her podcast ‘The Rennae Stubbs Podcast,’ the former coach highlighted the importance of minimizing double faults for Gauff while lauding her skills. “If she serves less than six double faults in her matches, no matter what match she plays, she will win the tournament,” Stubbs said earlier. While the double faults did not reduce to 6, Gauff still managed to keep the damage under control against Swiatek. This win, meanwhile, has mesmerized Gauff herself who can not be happier.

“Feels Great” – Coco Gauff makes heartfelt admission after defeating Iga Swiatek

Before her latest match, Coco Gauff faced Iga Swiatek 12 times on the courts. Despite proving herself on various occasions against strong opponents, Gauff failed to gain much success against the Pole and had won only 1 match so far. In fact, the only time Swiatek lost against Gauff was in the 2023 Cincinnati semi-finals. After her second victory over the four-time French Open champion, Gauff expressed immense happiness. 

She said, “It feels great. I knew going into it despite our head to head I had a lot of confidence. I felt like I was playing great tennis. Even when I was playing a bit sloppy, the games I lost were still going to deuce. They gave me confidence. I knew if I could stay solid, I’d have the chance to close out the match.” She further reflected upon the struggles she faced and depicted her resilience. 

“The first set I had like three straight games in a row with break points. I didn’t let it discourage me. I knew I’d get it eventually. Even In the last game I missed two forehand returns in the net and I told myself ‘it’s ok I’ll get the next one’ and I did.” For now, it would be interesting to see if Coco Gauff can continue this dominant run in Riyadh. Will she be able to return home with a title? Well, only time will tell.