Coco Gauff won the second biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals last week, and seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin praised the American's resilience.
Gauff started and finished 2024 with a title. She began the season by winning the ASB Classic in Auckland before securing her maiden title at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after an epic final against Qinwen Zheng.
The 20-year-old endured some challenging moments this season before that memorable run at the WTA Finals. In the months after the ASB Classic, she reached several semifinals but could not take the next step.
A dip in form followed during the grass-court and North American hard-court seasons. That led to Gauff deciding to part ways with her coach, Brad Gilbert, and appointing Matt Daly as his replacement.
Gauff's improvement after that decision was immediate. In her first tournament working with Daly, she won her second WTA 1000 title at the China Open in Beijing, followed by making the semifinals at the Wuhan Open.
The American built on that momentum at the WTA Finals. She qualified for the semifinals by winning her opening two round-robin matches against former doubles partner Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek.
Some Swiatek fans were enraged when Gauff lost her last round-robin match to Barbora Krejcikova, eliminating the Pole. Many of them claimed she did it deliberately to knock out Swiatek, but Rennae Stubbs dismissed those conspiracy theories.
Gauff then defeated the year-end No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka before beating Zheng in the final. She had to show outstanding mental strength to recover from a break down in the second set and from 3-5 down in the decider during her 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 final win.
Four-time French Open champion Henin praised Gauff's resilience when speaking to Eurosport, feeling it will help take the 20-year-old very far since she is still a young player.
"She has a resilience that potentially will take her very far in terms of what she will win in her career. She has the capacity to bounce back, and that’s the sign of a potentially very big future. Of course, there is a path to get there and reach these successes."
Henin is impressed with the quality of the WTA Tour this year. The Belgian said the superb final between Gauff and Zheng was one of several great matches and that fascinating rivalries have been developed.
"Her end of season has been really exceptional, the way that she went after the win in that final [against Qinwen]. It’s great to watch matches of that quality. We’ve seen a lot of them this year and we’re seeing some rivalries begin to establish themselves at the top of the game."
The seven-time Grand Slam winner also noted that some areas, like her forehand and second serve, have not evolved as quickly as others, but Gauff's fighting spirit always gives her a chance of succeeding.
"Coco Gauff showed once again a lot of heart, she plays with her weaknesses, with her flaws, but she never gives up and that’s what she showed once more in that final."
"Last year she had a summer that was completely different. We’ve seen things that have evolved in her game in a difficult way, but I was nonetheless quite impressed by the level of her game."