Coco Gauff Wins 1st Career WTA Finals, Defeats Zheng for $4.8M Prize Money Purse

For the first time in her career, Coco Gauff won the WTA Finals.

Gauff took down Zheng Qinwen in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) during the final on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 20-year-old trailed 2-0 as well as 5-3 in the third set before coming back to secure the victory.

Gauff earned $4.805 million in prize money for the title, representing the largest payout ever for a women's tennis event (via Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen).

The match lasted just over three hours before she emerged victorious over Zheng, who previously reached the Australian Open final and won a singles gold medal during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Despite trailing multiple times in the final set, Gauff explained that she pushed past doubts regarding her ability to come out on top.

"No, I think, sometimes you think of that a little bit," Gauff said. "But I just pushed that thought away. I was just telling myself, 'another point, another chance.' I've been in situations like this in the past and I've been able to turn it around and I was just hoping I could do it again today."

She became the first American to win the WTA Finals since Serena Williams in 2014 and also represented the youngest champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004, per The Athletic.

It was already an impressive run from Gauff before her hard-fought win on Saturday, as she defeated Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in the event on her way to the title. Sabalenka and Swiatek own the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the WTA rankings, respectively.

Although she wasn't able to reach a singles Grand Slam final in 2024 after winning the 2023 U.S. Open, Gauff still won three titles throughout the season and ended her year on a high note.