It’s another first for the American teenager: successfully defending a WTA title for the first time in her career.
By John Berkok
Coco Gauff battled past Elina Svitolina in the final of Auckland on Sunday, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, to win the Australian Open lead-up event for the second straight year. And it’s a milestone for the 19-year-old American—the first time she’s successfully defended a WTA title.
It’s the seventh WTA title of Gauff’s career, and she’s now an incredible 7-1 in her career in WTA finals, her only loss with a title on the line coming to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros in 2022.
And there’s more.
With her victory over Svitolina, Gauff is now a perfect 10-0 when she’s the No. 1 seed at a WTA event. This past week was her second time as the top seed at a WTA event, her first time coming at Auckland last year. She’s gone on to win the title both times.
COCO AS NO. 1 SEED AT WTA EVENTS: 10-0 (20-1 IN SETS)
- Maria in 2023 Auckland 1st Rd, 6-4, 6-1
- Kenin in 2023 Auckland 2nd Rd, 6-4, 6-4
- Zhu in 2023 Auckland QFs, 6-3, 6-2
- Kovinic in 2023 Auckland SFs, 6-0, 6-2
- Masarova in 2023 Auckland F, 6-1, 6-1
- Liu in 2024 Auckland 1st Rd, 6-4, 6-2
- Fruhvirtova in 2024 Auckland 2nd Rd, 6-3, 6-0
- Gracheva in 2024 Auckland QFs, 6-1, 6-1
- Navarro in 2024 Auckland SFs, 6-3, 6-1
- Svitolina in 2024 Auckland F, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3
Gauff very nearly won the first set against Svitolina on Sunday, building a 5-3 lead—and eventually holding two set points—before the Ukrainian battled back to sneak it out in a tie-break. But Gauff regrouped from there and was never really in trouble again, eventually closing the match out after two hours and 35 minutes.
Svitolina, a former No. 3, came into the final against the current No. 3 with a sparkling 17-3 record in WTA finals, Gauff becoming just the fourth player ever to beat Svitolina in a title match, joining a trio of former Top 2 players—Agnieszka Radwanska (2016 New Haven), Petra Kvitova (2016 Zhuhai) and Asheigh Barty (2019 WTA Finals).
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