The winner of today’s final in Riyadh will be up for a major payday as either Coco Gauff or Zheng Qinwen will pocket nearly $5 million.
On Friday, the top-ranked American female tennis player beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4) 6-3 to reach make her first WTA Finals final. On the other side, the Chinese tennis star overcame reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 7-5 to reach the championship match in her debut.
Now, Gauff, 20, and 22-year-old Zheng are set to meet for the second time. Earlier this year, the 20-year-old claimed a 7-6 (4) 6-1 win over the 22-year-old in the Rome Open quarterfinal. This time, they will clash on hard courts and the Chinese may feel better about her chances on a faster surface, knowing how well she has been serving lately.
And whoever wins this year’s WTA Finals title will be richer for $4,805,000.
A LOT on the line at the #WTAFinalsRiyadh 💰
Tune in not before 7pm local time on Saturday to see who collects it!
Presented by @CorpayFX pic.twitter.com/ceBFgfac7s
— wta (@WTA) November 8, 2024
How Gauff, Zheng reacted to making the final in Riyadh?
Due to her impressive form, Sabalenka was widely regarded as the No. 1 favorite for the main glory at the prestigious season-ending tournament. But on Friday, the world No. 3 came up big to beat the reigning Australian Open and US Open champion and prevent the Belarusian from capping off her outstanding 2024 season with a maiden WTA Finals glory. And the 20-year-old didn’t hide her happiness afterward.
“I’m happy with how I played. I know going against Aryna it’s always going to be tough. I just tried to stay in it. She’s world No. 1 for a reason. I’m just happy with how I played today,” Gauff said.
Coco Gauff© WTA Finals Riyadh/X – Fair Use
After reaching her first Grand Slam and WTA 1000 finals this year and also winning gold at the Paris Olympics, Zheng is now a win away from completing her second major victory in 2024.
“It feels so special. This is my first WTA Finals, and now I’m in the final. It’s unbelievable. She’s a really good player. We gave a good match. I don’t know what happened when I was leading 3-0. I want to say thanks for all the support from the fans. You gave such an amazing atmosphere,” the world No. 7 said.
Gauff and Zheng’s thoughts about their upcoming matchup
As mentioned above, their Rome clash started with a very tight first set – and after the Chinese lost it via a tie-break – her game collapsed and she won just one game in the rest of the match. However, she believes she has learned the lesson from that defeat.
“Last time I remember the reason why I lost against her is because I’m out of strength in this second set, and I feel I can’t put any first serve in because I don’t have more power anymore. That’s why I’m trying to improve my physical part. But after half a year, I feel the situation is different. I got more endurance in my physical. It’s going to be a different match, different surface. She’s obviously such a good player winning a Slam at a young age. It’s going to be a new challenge for me, but I’m really excited and really happy to face her,” Zheng said.
Zheng Qinwen© WTA Finals Riyadh/X – Fair Use
And Gauff definitely has nothing but respect for the 2024 Australian Open finalist’s game.
“I think she’s a very athletic player. She has a great serve and pretty good all around the court. I think, you know, it’s just going to be who can play better that day. Yeah, I feel like she’s in peak form. She played well in Beijing, finals in Wuhan, won a gold,” the American said of the world No. 7.
Throughout the week, Zheng enjoyed some strong support from Chinese fans in Riyadh. And although the 2023 US Open winner didn’t play the 22-year-old in the group stage, she noticed the support she has been receiving in Riyadh.
“I know there’s been a lot of Chinese fans coming — because I know they’ve been at my matches — and they say they come all the way from China to see us play. So I’m assuming they’re going to be rooting for her tomorrow. Hopefully, there are some on my side, too. I think it’ll be fun and atmosphere for both of us, and I think we’re both excited and we appreciate the crowd size has grown every match this week. So I think that just shows the progress of just bringing a new sport here and in an amount of time of just like a week and a half, how different it is. So I’m very excited. Hopefully, I can qualify next year and see the growth,” Gauff said.