In a nail-biting final lasting over three hours, 20-year-old Coco Gauff managed to add the crown of the WTA Finals to her record. The American had to match, catch up to, and eventually outpace China’s Qinwen Zheng. This final push only came at the end. In the tiebreak of the third set, she finally managed to break Zheng’s resilience, where she had only succeeded in brief moments earlier in the match.
Match report Gauff vs. Zheng
- Date: November 9, 2024
- Final
- Result: Coco Gauff defeated Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
Qinwen Zheng starts strong, takes the first set
The very first game in a packed stadium set the tone for the entire match. Gauff managed to earn a break point, but Zheng held her ground after a double deuce. Coco Gauff won her service games a bit more easily, leading to 2-2 with Zheng serving. Gauff again missed three break points, putting Zheng up 3-2. At 2-3, Qinwen Zheng had her first break point but couldn’t capitalize on it, bringing the score to 3-3 as Zheng held serve to make it 3-4.
Then, Gauff had her first major lapse, losing her own service game at love, falling to 3-5. Zheng briefly stumbled, falling behind 0-30 and facing another break point but managed to recover, clinching the first set point without hesitation. Gauff now knew what she was up against, with a crowd still loudly cheering for Zheng.
Zheng misses the mark
In the second set, Zheng quickly jumped ahead to a 0-2 lead. Whatever Coco tried, Zheng seemed like an elastic band, always bouncing back. Gauff then easily held her serve to reach 1-2, and Zheng responded to keep her break and lead 1-3. Gauff held at love on her serve and suddenly found herself “in the zone”, storming back to break with nine consecutive points in between it all.
This was the first time Zheng showed signs of choking under her persistent lead on the scoreboard. Her lead vanished as Gauff served out and pushed to 5-3. Yet, there were still twists left. Zheng managed to close the gap to 5-4 by breaking Gauff, then had a chance to serve and even level the score to 5-5 but stumbled at the crucial moment. The first set point came, and unlike in the first set, this time it went in the American’s favor. Just like Zheng, she only needed one. 6-4 and 1-all in sets it was.
Down to the wire in the third set
Zheng again showed her mental resilience, fighting through a break point from Gauff (game 2) and three missed break points of her own until the fourth one landed to take the opening game. Now at 0-2, Gauff, visibly fatigued, began to despair at Zheng’s relentless pressure. Rally after rally, Zheng won the points slightly more during this phase. In game three, however, Zheng missed two break points by overreaching. So, instead of 0-3, it became 1-2. Zheng’s level briefly dipped, and Gauff capitalized immediately. With carefully constructed rallies, she put Zheng under pressure, and her hard work paid off, reaching 2-2 with a love service game behind it. Zheng responded impressively, holding serve strongly and pressuring Gauff’s serve. From 3-2 down, Zheng surged ahead to 3-4, then even to 3-5. Alarm bells went off for Gauff, and she started shouting “Yes!” or “Come On!” after every point she made. Zheng was two points from victory at 30-30 and 40-40 but failed to secure a break point, leaving the score at 4-5. Then Zheng’s game suddenly fell apart. Serving poorly, she found herself 40-15 down. An ace couldn’t save her as Gauff broke back, leveling the score. Talk about a rollercoaster!
A rollercoaster WTA Final
What had we witnessed so far in this match? Two players in top form, evenly matched every moment. If Gauff made an error on her forehand, Zheng usually answered with one too at some point later, though both made rare mistakes. The same was true for their backhands – unforced errors were rare. Their serves? Nearly impenetrable, both solid and reliable. This was a battle, tooth and nail, from start to finish.
Almost to the finish line. As the inevitable tiebreak began, Coco Gauff let out a loud “YES” on her serve after a regular point and 1-0. Relieved to have won that first point of the breaker, Gauff carried that positive energy through nearly every point that followed, in the end decisively taking the tiebreak 7-2 over Zheng.
How did Gauff turn this match around?
Not because Zheng suddenly fell apart or choked severely but rather because Gauff may be the mentally toughest player in the world right now. In high-pressure moments, she seems to possess that extra bit of clarity and composure. During the peak moments of tension, Zheng often tried too hard, unable to hold back, and ended up hitting overly powerful forehands. Coco Gauff, in contrast, demonstrated a remarkable ability to pull back at just the right moments, taking the pace off balls or answering with controlled aggression. In this way, Gauff is one of the clearest-thinking players on the WTA Tour, possibly the very best. She proved it here in this final, just as she had done at the US Open.
Miss Lucidity.
Qinwen Zheng, on the other hand, is rising swiftly.
hence, it’s not far-fetched to imagine a remarkable “Big Five” emerging by 2025, a group of players that could dominate for years to come: Gauff, Sabalenka, Zheng, Swiatek, and Rybakina. Any player who can consistently join this group would be accomplishing a true feat. But for the end of this season, everyone’s name on everyone’s lips, should be Coco ‘Lucidity’ Gauff. American or not, loved or hated, she played a hell of a WTA Finals 2024. And boy, she was glad crossing the line.