How Coco Gauff turned around her season, in three acts
From Grand Slam semifinal runs to early-round losses to ending the year as WTA Finals champion, the American put on quite a show.
Looking back, looking forward. With the 2024 WTA season in the books, Joel Drucker has nine notable storylines to consider over the next few weeks—before the next year of women's tennis begins. (On mobile devices, scroll down to read more WTA takeways; on desktop, you'll see additional entires on the left side of your screen.)
Coco Gauff’s 2024 can best be viewed as a three-act play.
The show got underway with a lively start, marked by semifinal runs at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
Act Two proved troubling. Seeded second at Wimbledon, Gauff was upset by Emma Navarro in the round of 16. Then, keen to defend her US Open title, Gauff lost again to Navarro at the same stage. Soon after came a parting with one of her coaches, Brad Gilbert.
As Act Three began, it was uncertain how the plot would unfold. It turned out to be glorious.
Gauff won Beijing, lost a tight three-setter to Sabalenka in the semis of Wuhan, then closed out the year superbly with a victory at the WTA Finals—an effort capped by victories over Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and, in the final, a dramatic comeback versus Qinwen Zheng.
“It’s like the second-biggest title in our sport,” she said. “So yeah, it means a lot, and just to be etched in history forever, it’s pretty cool.”
Gauff finished the year at No. 3, after three acts.