Former WTA player Daniella Hantuchova believes that Coco Gauff is the favourite for the WTA Finals trophy and also that she has a lot of similarities to Serena Williams.
Some might say that comparing Gauff to Serena Williams is a lazy comparison that is easy to make, but actually, it makes a lot of sense. It's mostly used as a complement to Gauff because some of the things she's doing in tennis haven't been seen in a while.
She's already one of the best tennis players on Tour and is also one of the youngest, having recorded her breakthrough as a 15-year-old. That's not your common career trajectory so comparisons with legendary players were always going to be made.
Gauff is going to play at the WTA Finals, where she is one of the favourites, having played really strong tennis lately. According to former player Hantuchova, she's the favourite for the trophy because, much like Serena, she loves the stage and bright lights.
It's super packed, but if I have to pick one favourite, it's Coco Gauff. She won the last Grand Slam, she likes the hard surface, she's a big fighter and she has a lot in common with Serena. She loves the big stage and when all eyes are on her, so that's why I favor her.
The big bright lights impacted her last year as she went 0-6 at the WTA Finals in both singles and doubles. It was a pretty bad showing from the American, so expect her to be motivated to do much better this year.
Compared to last year, Gauff is pretty much a new tennis player with a lot more confidence in her tennis. That was always the question mark with her. The talent was always there, but she needed to develop confidence in her tennis.