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Coco Gauff won her third WTA 1000 title and first of the season at the Wuhan Open on Sunday, beating Jessica Pegula in straight sets. This is the American's second big title of the year and the first since her win at the French Open.
More importantly, it is also Gauff's first title since she hired Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics expert to help with her serve just before the start of the US Open. While the World No. 3 struggled in New York, that move has definitely paid the divideds hoped for, with Gauff winning the title in Wuhan without losing a single set.
As it turns out, Gauff almost did not make the trip to Wuhan and the China Open before that, as her coach Jean-Christophe Faurel had wanted her to skip the Asian swing to focus on her serve correction first.
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Speaking at the presentation ceremony on Sunday, Gauff revealed all this, adding with pride that she was glad to prove him wrong with her 'very stubborn' nature
“It was a great Asian swing. I’m going to call JC [Jean-Christophe Faurel, my coach] out. He originally didn’t want me to come because I had a tough US Open but I had to prove him wrong. I’m a very stubborn person so maybe he said that on purpose for me to have a good result here,” Coco Gauff said.
For winning the title at the Wuhan Open, Gauff earned a handsome $596,000, with Pegula earning a little less -- $351,000.
Coco Gauff holds on to World No. 3 spot after Wuhan Open title
Coco Gauff will continue to hold the World No. 3 spot in the WTA rankings after the title in Wuhan, trailing behind Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. While Sabalenka lost in the semifinals against Jessica Pegula, Swiatek fell to Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Pegula will rise one spot to World No. 5, overtaking Mirra Andreeva. Both Pegula and Gauff have qualified now for the year-end WTA Finals, along with Sabalenka, Swiatek, Australian Open champ Madison Keys and Wimbledon & US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova.
