Coco Gauff has marked a huge milestone in her career and set an impressive prize money record following her triumph at the 2024 WTA Finals.
The 20-year-old produced a sensational comeback at the King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh to secure her first title at the end-of-year tournament. In an enthralling final against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen that lasted more than three hours, Gauff fought back from 3-6, 1-3 down for her ninth WTA Tour singles title.
She beat the Paris gold medalist 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to become the youngest player to lift the trophy since Maria Sharapova 20 years ago. She is also the youngest American to win the WTA Finals since Serena Williams in 2001.
In the lead-up to her meeting with Zheng, Gauff beat Iga Swiatek in the round-robin stage before eliminating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal.
How much did Coco Gauff win at the WTA Finals?
As a result of her efforts, Gauff has earned a record $4,805,000 in prize money. The check is the largest in the history of women’s professional tennis and takes Gauff’s overall earnings to $21,581,989, surpassing the $20 million bracket. She is the first male or female player born in 2004 or later to reach this milestone.
Following her triumph, Gauff told reporters: “This means a lot to me. This is the first professional women’s tennis event here in Saudi Arabia and I’ll forever be etched in history in that standard.”
20 MILLION DOLLAR WOMAN! 😎
With her $4,805,000 cheque for winning the WTA Finals, 🇺🇸 @CocoGauff has surpassed $20 Million in career prize money. 💰
The 20-year-old American is the FIRST tennis player born in 2004 or later—woman OR man—to hit that career prize money milestone:
— TENNIS (@Tennis) November 10, 2024
She also recently addressed those who had been criticising her form and labelling 2024 as her ‘Flop Era’ following a tough North American hard court run. Gauff has used the negative comments as motivation and she has addressed her ‘doubters and haters’ once again.
“I know I tend to focus on ‘doubters/haters’ but this one is really for all of my supporters,” she wrote on X. “Ya’ll held it down for me, win or lose! I thank you for that. I see you and I appreciate you. And I know some of you are a little bit petty like me so it does feel nice to silence them for a bit.”
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Gauff’s victory in Riyadh marks her biggest title win since her debut Grand Slam at the 2023 US Open. She has now also won a title at every single level, from WTA 250s to a Grand Slam, joining Swiatek as the only two active players under 30 to do so.
Gauff is the seventh American player to win the WTA Finals, joining the likes of the Williams sisters and eight-time champion Martina Navratilova.
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