Coco Gauff upset No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF to advance to Saturday’s championship match.
The 20-year-old American and World No.3 handed Sabalenka her second consecutive loss in Riyadh, winning 7-6(4), 6-3 to become the third player since 2010 to score wins over both the World No.1 and No.2 at the WTA Finals.
“I’m happy with how I played. I know going against Aryna it’s always going to be tough. I just tried to stay in it. She’s world #1 for a reason. I’m just happy with how I played today,” Coco Gauff after beating Aryna Sabalenka to reach 1st final of WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Gauff will face Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen for the title Saturday. Zheng advanced to the final after defeating Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first semifinal. Saturday’s winner will take home a record $4,805,000, the largest prize money check in the history of women’s professional tennis.
“She’s playing great tennis,” Coco Gauff replied on facing Qinwen Zheng in the final.
“Just playing confident tennis will help give me the best shot at winning. I’m not really nervous to be honest. I always consider Year-End Finals just a plus. Being here is a reward for the season that I had,” she concluded.
With the win, Gauff became the youngest player to make the championship match at the WTA Finals since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 and the youngest to beat No.1 at the season-ending championships since Maria Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport in 2004. She is now a win away from becoming the youngest WTA Finals champion since Sharapova’s 2004 title run.
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