Coco Gauff becomes youngest female player since Maria Sharapova to achieve unique feat after beating Aryna Sabalenka & Iga Swiatek at WTA Finals 2024

Coco Gauff reached the championship match of the 2024 WTA Finals on Friday (November 8) in fine style as she defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4), 6-3. With her victory, the 20-year-old has now achieved a rather exemplary feat.

Gauff put together a respectable season before arriving at the year-end elite event in Riyadh. The American picked up two WTA titles, reached two Major semifinals and won 48 of her 63 pro-tour matches.

Coco Gauff's year went from good to great at this week's WTA Finals. She downed sixth-ranked Jessica Pegula and second-ranked Iga Swiatek in the round-robin stage to reach the semifinals, where she edged the year-end No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.

The latter two wins have now put the World No. 3 in an exclusive club. The 2023 US Open champion is the youngest WTA player to beat the World No. 1 and the World No. 2 at a single event since Maria Sharapova achieved the feat in 2006.

Coincidentally, Gauff and Sharapova were both ranked No. 3 when they overcame their respective top 2 opposition at a tournament. The Russian defeated Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, to win her second Major title at the 2006 US Open.

She was 19 years, 4 months and 23 days old at the time, making her the youngest female player to get the better of the WTA's top 2 at a single tournament in this century.

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Coco Gauff on winning despite fans' criticism: "I use it as motivation"

Coco Gauff hits a backhand at WTA Finals 2024

Earlier this week, Coco Gauff fielded questions regarding her resilience and how she handled the high expectations and critiques from the tennis universe. The 20-year-old maintained that the fans expecting her to perform well was a motivator for her at this point in her career.

"I use it as motivation. And before, I used to use it as pressure and I was like, you know, the expectations are always going to be there for me," Coco Gauff told the media in Riyadh. "And I kind of turned it into like, people are expecting so much from you, so that means people see potential in you, so you should see the potential in yourself."

Gauff will face World No. 7 Zheng Qinwen for the 2024 WTA Finals title. Their lone career encounter came in the quarterfinals of this year's Italian Open, where the American beat the Chinese 7-6(4), 6-1.