"I probably would have not believed you" - Coco Gauff reacts to her singles and doubles qualification for the WTA Finals
Coco Gauff surprised herself with her singles qualification for the season-ending WTA Finals, saying that she would deem it impossible had she been told of the feat at the start of the year.
Eighteen-year-old Gauff described her start to the year as "rocky," but a reminder from her dad strengthened her resolve to finish strong.
"I think my year, it started off rocky. But I think for the most part, definitely, probably the best year of my career so far. And if you told myself in January that I would be in the race and had all these accomplishments, I probably would have not believed you," said Coco Gauff in an interview posted on the Tennis Twitter account.
"But as my dad would say, it's not about how you start. It's how you finish," added Coco Gauff.
Gauff started the season with back-to-back setbacks in the Australian Open and in Dubai and went on to compile a 10-8 win-loss record in the first five months of the year, with a quarterfinal appearance in Doha her best finish to that point.
But things picked up for Gauff from there, blazing her way to her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros against eventual champion Iga Swiatek last June.
Not to be fazed by her Major success, she followed it up with a semifinal finish in her succeeding tournament in Germany and four quarterfinal runs, including the US Open.
This pushed Gauff into the top 10 for the first time in September, before reaching a career-high ranking of No. 7 last Monday.
Her timely resurgence allowed her to join early qualifiers Swiatek and Ons Jabeur, doubles partner Jessica Pegula and Caroline Garcia as the American ace became the youngest woman to compete in the year-end championships since a slightly younger eighteen-year-old Maria Sharapova did so in 2005.
Aryna Sabalenka and Daria Kasatkina later got their names in, with the last slot still being contested by Veronika Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari at the Guadalajara Open.
Gauff will also be on double duty with partner Pegula when the WTA Finals kicks off on October 31.
"Qualifying for doubles, I knew with the year Jess (Pegula) and I had, that would be kind of set in stone," said Coco Gauff.
Gauff and Pegula have won three titles this season and were runners-up at the French Open. The pair rose to the No. 1 ranking on August 15.
Coco Gauff prevails again against familiar foe Martina Trevisan, moves into QF at the Guadalajara Open
Facing a familiar foe on the opposite side of the net, Coco Gauff drew from experience and scored a repeat win over Martina Trevisan, 6-0, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals at the Guadalajara Open.
Gauff last squared off against Trevisan at Roland Garros last June, where the teenage sensation got the better of her Italian opponent in straight sets.
Gauff will contest her third WTA 1000 quarters of the year against Victoria Azarenka, who dashed the hopes of WTA Finals aspirant Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1.
Azarenka and Gauff will square off for the first time in their careers.