Coco Gauff defeats karolina Muchova in Cincinnati to win first WTA 1000 title

Coco Gauff became the first teenage champion at the Western & Southern Open, beating Karolina Muchova in straight sets to win her second title of the summer.

The No.7 Coco Gauff defeated No.17 Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Western & Southern Open to win her second hard-court title of the summer and third of the season. Gauff, 19, is the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.

Having won Auckland in January and Washington D.C. two weeks ago, Gauff is now the first teenager to win three titles in a season since Bianca Andreescu in 2019. She is the first teenager to win five career titles since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.

Since the tournament was reinstated in 2004, Gauff is the fourth American champion in Cincinnati, joining Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, and Madison Keys. She will rise one spot in the WTA rankings to No.6 on Monday.

“I’m really happy with how I was able to manage this week,” Gauff said. “I got a huge win yesterday, a big one today. Karolina, she’s not an easy player. It’s really good to see her back at the top. I think she’s one of the most talented players on tour.”

With No.3 Jessica Pegula winning Montreal last week, this is the first time Americans have swept the WTA 1000s in Canada and Cincinnati. It is the first time Americans won back-to-back WTA 1000s since 2015, when Serena Williams won Cincinnati and Venus Williams won Wuhan.

Since losing in the first round of Wimbledon, Gauff has now won 11 of her last 12 matches, picking up the two biggest titles of her career during that span.