By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday November 5, 2024

Coco Gauff produced a rare victory over five-time major champion Iga Swiatek on Tuesday at the WTA Finals, the American notching a 6-3, 6-4 victory for her second win in 13 tries against the Polish juggernaut.

Gauff, who lost her first seven matches against Swiatek before defeating her in the 2023 Cincinnati final, had lost another four in a row against the Warsaw native, including two in 2024, at Rome at Roland-Garros.

“It feels great,” Gauff said of her 52nd win of 2024. “Despite our head-to-head I had a lot of confidence going in – I felt like I was playing great tennis.

“If I played solid I knew I’d have the chance to close out the match.” Gauff is the youngest player to reach back-to-back semifinals at the WTA’s season-ending event since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

She was the better player throughout their 13th career meeting as she remained undefeated in group play in Riyadh and qualified for the semifinals. Defending champion Swiatek, who drops to 1-1 at the WTA Finals, will face Jessica Pegula in her final round robin match on Thursday.



Swiatek’s loss means that Aryna Sabalenka secures the WTA’s year-end No.1 ranking for the first time. The Belarusian, who has won Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and the US Open in 2024, hopes to sweep the three biggest hard court events of 2024 by winning in Riyadh. She has won her first two matches and qualified for the semifinals at the top of her group.

Gauff did not surrender a break point in the opening set. After two trades of breaks in the second set, Gauff broke in the final game of the match to lock down her victory.



The stat sheet wasn’t tidy for either player, with Swiatek hitting 47 unforced errors against just 15 winners, and Gauff producing 10 winners against 33 unforced.