Coco Gauff will move back into the top five of the WTA Rankings after breezing past Karolina Muchova in the China Open final.
Having come from a set down against Yuliia Starodubtseva in the last eight and Paula Badosa in the last four, Sunday’s final was a much more straightforward affair for the former US Open champion.
Gauff was in control throughout, with a 6-1, 6-3 victory seeing her lift her second WTA 1000 singles title.
Victory for Gauff will move her back up to world No 4 on Monday, having initially fallen out of the world’s top five following her US Open fourth round exit.
The American will hold 5,593 ranking points when the rankings update, moving her ahead of current world No 4 Elena Rybakina and world No 5 Jasmine Paolini.
She also moves ahead of Paolini in the WTA Race to Riyadh, with the American now in fourth place – and pretty much ensured of her place at the WTA Finals.
Gauff’s triumph is her second title of 2024, having previously won the Auckland Open back in January, and also extends her impressive final record.
The 20-year-old has now won eight of her nine WTA singles finals, with her only loss coming to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 French Open, while she is the first player in WTA history to win her first seven finals on hard courts.
She also extends her dominant record over Muchova, having now won all three of their matches without dropping a set.
“I want say congrats to Karolina – it’s great to see you back on tour,” said the American post-match.
“You’re such an amazing player and you deserve everything. Hopefully we play many more finals and I don’t want to say I hope some go your way, but maybe against someone else it’ll go your way!
“It’s been incredible to see how you’re able to manage your season after so many injuries. Every time I see the post, I just wish you the best. Hopefully, you stay healthy for the rest of the year and the rest of your career.”
It was the American’s first tournament under new coach Matt Daly, cementing a strong start to the new partnership.
She added: “It’s our first tournament together as a full complete team. Thank you Matt – this is our first tournament together and obviously it’s going well, so thank you for just helping me throughout this week.”
Gauff is next set to be in action at the Wuhan Open, which starts tomorrow.