"My mom is here, dad is watching at home" - Coco Gauff gives heartwarming shoutout to her parents and family after winning maiden WTA Finals title

Coco Gauff won her third title of the 2024 season at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, beating Zheng Qinwen in the final after being a set down. The American thanked her parents for their unwavering support throughout the last week during her winner's speech.

Gauff had put together a respectable season for her lofty standards before arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the year-end championships, winning two WTA titles and compiling a 48-15 win/loss record. The 20-year-old caught fire at the final tournament of the year, winning four of her five matches to secure her maiden WTA Finals title.

Coco Gauff was slow to get off the blocks in the title clash against World No. 7 Zheng Qinwen as she dropped the first set 3-6. The third seed was quick to strike back, taking the second set 6-4. She then fell behind by a break in the decider twice but broke back on both occasions to take the match to a winner-takes-all tiebreaker.

The American played a flawless third-set tiebreaker against Qinwen, surrendering only two points to eke out a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) victory in just over three hours. During the trophy ceremony, she recounted how tough 2024 had been for her. She then thanked her mother, who posed with her at the end, her father, and the rest of her family and team for supporting her.

"I’d to thank my team. It’s been a long season. I want to say thank you. This week has been so fun. Win or lose, I always have a good time with you guys. Thank you to my parents. My mom is here. My dad is watching at home.. my brother.. my grandparents. Thank you to the man above for allowing me to be here."

Zheng Qinwen, meanwhile, can take pride in her season despite her heartbreak in the WTA Finals title clash. The Chinese 22-year-old finished runner-up in Melbourne and Riyadh but secured gold in singles at the Paris Olympics.

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Coco Gauff has now won nine WTA singles titles

Coco Gauff poses with the 2024 WTA Finals trophy

Coco Gauff added the much-coveted year-end championships trophy to her haul of big titles this week. The American's biggest title to date came at last year's US Open, where she recorded her maiden Major triumph. She has also won the WTA 1000 titles in Beijing (2024) and Cincinnati (2023).

The World No. 3's other title victories include winning the 2019 Linz Open, the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open, the 2023 Auckland Open, the 2023 Washington Open and the 2024 Auckland Open.

Notably, she has an unassailable record of 9-1 in her WTA final appearances, with her only championship-match loss having been to Iga Swiatek at the 2022 French Open. Gauff ends 2024 with 52 wins out of 68 matches.