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WTA Auckland, New Zealand

Coco Gauff battles past Elina Svitolina to capture Auckland title for second straight year

It’s another first for the American teenager: successfully defending a WTA title for the first time in her career.

By John Berkok
Back-to-back! Coco Gauff retains Auckland trophy by rallying for three-set win over Elina Svitolina0:59

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)

  • d. Maria in 2023 Auckland 1st Rd, 6-4, 6-1
  • d. Kenin in 2023 Auckland 2nd Rd, 6-4, 6-4
  • d. Zhu in 2023 Auckland QFs, 6-3, 6-2
  • d. Kovinic in 2023 Auckland SFs, 6-0, 6-2
  • d. Masarova in 2023 Auckland F, 6-1, 6-1
  • d. Liu in 2024 Auckland 1st Rd, 6-4, 6-2
  • d. Fruhvirtova in 2024 Auckland 2nd Rd, 6-3, 6-0
  • d. Gracheva in 2024 Auckland QFs, 6-1, 6-1
  • d. Navarro in 2024 Auckland SFs, 6-3, 6-1
  • d. Svitolina in 2024 Auckland F, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JANUARY 07: Coco Gauff of USA celebrates with the trophy after winning the Women's singles final match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during the 2024 Women's ASB Classic at ASB Tennis Centre on January 07, 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
© 2024 Getty Images

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).