The 7 American women to win WTA Finals title: Coco Gauff joins all-time greats
11/09/2024 03:16 PM
Coco Gauff sealed her place in WTA Finals history with an epic victory in Riyadh.
The world No 3 battled past Zheng Qinwen in an extraordinary final to lift the title for the first time and become the seventh American woman to claim the title.
We look at the US all-time greats the 20-year-old now joins.
Chris Evert
Evert was the first champion at the tournament and ultimately triumphed four times at the WTA Finals.
The 18-time major champion defeated Kerry Melville to triumph in the inaugural championships in 1972, before downing Nancy Richey in 1973.
After defeat in the 1974 final, Evert downed Martina Navratilova to triumph in 1975 and then beat Sue Barker for her last win in 1977.
Martina Navratilova
No one has more titles at this event than Navratilova, who is an eight-time singles champion.
Navratilova beat Evonne Goolagong to win her first title in 1978, before battling past Tracy Austin to successfully defend her title in 1979.
After beating Andrea Jaeger to regain her title in 1981, she won five straight titles from 1983 to 1986 (November) to cement her place as the greatest champion in the tournament's history.
Tracy Austin
Austin remains one of the youngest champions in WTA Finals history thanks to her triumph at the 1980 year-end championships.
The former world No 1 defeated Billie Jean King to reach the final, where she faced Navratilova – the woman who had beaten her twelve months previously.
Austin turned the tables on this occasion, battling to a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory to lift the title.
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Lindsay Davenport
Three-time major singles champion and former world No 1 Davenport is one of a small handful of players to win the Finals in both singles and doubles, triumphing in the singles event 25 years ago.
Having previously been beaten in the 1994 and 1998 finals, she returned to the final in 1999, rallying from a set down against Amelie Mauresmo in round one before not dropping another set on her way to the final.
Davenport faced Martina Hingis in a rematch of the 1998 final, and beat the Swiss 6-4, 6-2.
Serena Williams
All-time tennis great Serena was a five-time winner at the year-end championships, with her triumphs spanning a 13-year spell.
The 23-time major champion won her first title in 2001 after Davenport was forced to pull out of their final, before defeating sister Venus to triumph in 2009.
Serena then stormed to three straight triumphs in the 2010s, beating Maria Sharapova in the 2012 final, Li Na in 2013, and Simona Halep in 2014.
Venus Williams
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus was unbeaten on her way to winning the first and only WTA Finals title of her career.
The former world No 1 beat the likes of sister Venus and Elena Dementieva in her group, before battling past top seed Jelena Jankovic in the last four.
Venus found herself down a set in the final against Vera Zvonareva but fought back to prevail 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-2.
Coco Gauff
Gauff battled back from the brink of defeat to down Qinwen in one of the best WTA Finals championship matches in recent years.
The world No 3 defeated Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek to seal progression from her group, before downing world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the semi-finals.
Gauff was a set down and a break down in the second and third sets in the final but rallied to seal an extraordinary 3-6, 6-4 7-6(2) triumph.
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