Despite only being 20 years old, American tennis player and 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff has shown a level of maturity and insight that underscores her age. This was particularly clear during her incredible run to the title at last week’s WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Gauff’s deeply confused feelings about playing in Saudi Arabia demonstrated that there was a workable solution because she skillfully navigated the situation to determine the best course of action.
She talked about playing in Saudi Arabia for the WTA Finals and said: “Obviously I’m a woman. I was very concerned. My dad was very concerned about me coming here. I would be lying to you if I said I had no reservations. Obviously, you know who I am and the things I speak about. I was pretty much on every player call I could make with WTA. One of the things I said, if we come here, we can’t just come here and play our tournament and leave. Like, we have to have a real program or real plan in place.”
As promised, Gauff also made sure to speak with Saudi Arabian women directly.
She added: “We spoke with a lot of women here in Saudi. One of them was Princess Reema. Multiple calls with her, how the best approach would be to enter into this different place that women have never kind of, women from the US, have never kind of been in. I think for me it was important, and it was one of the questions I brought up because about LGBTQ issues, women’s rights issues, how we can help with that.”
Coco Gauff in 2024
At the moment ranked no.3, Gauff played her last match on the 9th
of November when she defeated world no.5 Qinwen Zheng 3-6 6-4 7-6(2) in the final in Riyadh to win her 9th career title.This season the American achieved a 54-17 match record. Coco clinched 3 titles in 2024 in Auckland, Beijing and Riyadh.
Coco Gauff will take on the world no.222 Sinja Kraus in the . They have never played each other up to now in top tournaments.
Coco has won 3 titles in 2024 in Auckland, Beijing and Riyadh.
Coco won 9 titles in her career: 6 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff |
| Embed from Getty Images |
Coco Gauff in 2024
Ranked world no.3, the American played her last match on the 9th of November when she beat world no.5 Qinwen Zheng 3-6 6-4 7-6(2) in the final in Riyadh to win her 9th career title.
Presently, during this year the American has achieved a 54-17 record. Gauff has won 3 titles in 2024 in Auckland, Beijing and Riyadh.
Coco Gauff will square off with the world no.222 Sinja Kraus in the . In the past, they have never competed against each other so far in top events.
The American clinched 3 titles in 2024 in Auckland, Beijing and Riyadh.
Coco won 9 titles in her career: 6 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff |
| Embed from Getty Images |