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Tennis

Coco Gauff Becomes the Youngest Player to Reach WTA Finals Since 2005

Coco Gauff is one of the biggest rising tennis stars in the world right now, and she established her dominance at the Guadalajara Open. The 18-year-old become the youngest player to qualify for the WTA Finals in singles since Maria Sharapova in 2005. The world no. 7 achieved this feat by defeating Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 to reach the third round of the Guadalajara Open. She also qualified for the season-ending finals in both singles and doubles with partner Jessica Pegula, becoming the first American since Serena and Venus Williams in 2009 to achieve this feat. Gauff told reporters that she didn’t expect this would happen when she set her goals at the beginning of the season, but she’s proud of her achievement. “Honestly I didn't think about it until I realized how close I was and I think I went maybe a little bit nervous in the end, but I'm super excited to be playing in the WTA Finals, especially in the USA, and qualifying in singles and doubles is definitely a good achievement,” said Gauff. The WTA Finals are set to take place from October 31 to November 7 in Fort Worth, Texas. Gauff joins Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula, and Caroline Garcia, who all qualified for the tournament on Wednesday, while three more places are yet to be filled.