Coco Gauff was over the moon as she clinched her first WTA 1000 title of 2024 at the China Open in Beijing. During her press conference following the win, the American acknowledged the significance of the occasion but clarified that she did not shed tears.
Gauff earned a resounding 6-1, 6-3 victory against a familiar opponent, Karolina Muchova, to lift her career’s second WTA 1000 trophy on Sunday, October 6. Interestingly, her first title in the category also came against the Czech opponent at the 2023 Cincinnati Open.Speaking about how she approached the title clash, Coco Gauff said:
“I was super relaxed going in. I was just like, I don’t know, this match is not going to change my life. When you go into matches like that, it’s super relaxed.”
The 2023 US Open champion, who now has a 3-0 lead against Karolina Muchova, recounted their battle in Cincinnati, noting that the experience proved crucial.
“I think also the experience of winning a 1000-level title in the past. Yeah, that tournament, it was great confidence,” she said. “Again, it didn’t change my life.”
When asked if she wiped away a few tears after the long-awaited win, though, Coco Gauff clarified that she did not.
“Oh, no, I didn’t cry. It might be something in my eye. Trust me, I have cried after winning before. No, I didn’t cry today. Must have been something in my eye,” she said.
Gauff now has a staggering 8-1 win-loss record in tour-level finals. Her only loss so far came at the 2022 French Open, where she was beaten by World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. At the time, the 20-year-old smiled through tears during her runner-up speech. She also had an emotional reaction when she came up trumps in her second Grand Slam final at the 2023 US Open.
“But I am the first to admit when I cry,” Coco Gauff said after winning the China Open.
“No, I don’t think I’ll cry. Today was just like, Yeah, it’s cool. It was not a crying day,” she added.
Coco Gauff on her China Open 2024 triumph: “I was just telling myself I’m proud of myself”
The 2024 China Open triumph was immensely significant for Coco Gauff, considering it ended her ten-month-long title drought. She had not won any silverware since her ASB Classic title defense in January.
Also worth noting is that the young American recently parted ways with veteran coach Brad Gilbert, who was part of her team when she won the US Open last year. Gauff, who has struggled with her forehand and serve of late, announced her new collaboration with Matt Daly, who specializes in grip changes, during the China Open.Speaking about her immediate success, Coco Gauff said:
“I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. Honestly, I was just telling myself the whole match I’m proud of myself, how I was able to overcome and still work on things that I’ve been practicing on, too, and stick to it,” she said in the aforementioned press conference.
The World No. 4 will now shift her focus to the final WTA 1000 event of the season—the Wuhan Open (October 7–13). She is the fourth seed at the event and awaits either Ashlyn Krueger or Viktoriya Tomova in the second round.