Coco Gauff is youngest player since Maria Sharapova to qualify for WTA Finals
In a season of many firsts, Coco Gauff has added another feather to her cap. The 18-year-old has become the youngest player in nearly two decades to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals.
As if that wasn't enough, Gauff, along with her doubles partner Jessica Pegula, have also qualified for the doubles event in Fort Worth, Texas, later this month. Pegula is also one of the five players who have qualified for the event in singles. Gauff and Pegula will be the first all-American doubles pair to be in the WTA Finals in more than a decade since the Williams sisters in 2009.
Four months shy of her 19th birthday, Gauff has become the youngest player since Maria Sharapova (18 years, 208 days) to qualify for the WTA Finals. The right-hander is the youngest American to make the season-ending event since Lindsay Davenport finished runner-up in 1994.
Coco Gauff is the youngest player to make the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2004.
The World No. 7 broke into the top-10 after making the quarterfinals at the US Open last month. She lost to Caroline Garcia in straight sets. The Frenchwoman has also qualified for the season-ending event and did so for the first time since 2017.
Coco Gauff's 2022 season so far
Coco Gauff has gone without a singles title this season, going 37-18, but is a three-time doubles title winner with a 25-10 record.
The 18-year-old has had some deep runs in big tournaments. She made her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, where she lost to Iga Swiatek. Gauff also made the doubles final at the tournament with Pegula but went down to the all-French pair of Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
At the Canadian Open, Gauff and Pegula won their second title of the year. That made Gauff the second-youngest WTA doubles No. 1. The all-American combine is coming off a win in San Diego last week, where Gauff lost to eventual winner Iga Swiatek in the singles quarterfinals.
Coco Gauff qualifying for WTA year-end championships in singles AND doubles at age 18 is an unreal accomplishment.
I know there was an effort to avoid overhype Gauff when she arrived to tour, but we should probably allow ourselves to stop and say "omg wtf wow amazing" sometimes.
After joining her compatriot Pegula at the season-ending event, an elated Gauff said:
"I'm just super excited. I wasn't really thinking about it, to be honest, before the match. But I'm excited to join Jess (Jessica Pegula) out there. She got qualified last week, so I'm just happy that I was able to do it here. It's my first WTA Finals for singles and doubles. I'm happy that I could 'Buy one, get one free,' so two for one."
Following her campaign in Guadalajara this week — where she's competing in both singles and doubles — Coco Gauff will look to create more history at the WTA Finals.