The 2024 WTA Finals are nearing their conclusion with two Americans in contention for singles and doubles titles.
Coco Gauff and Taylor Townsend will play in the singles and doubles finals on Saturday. Both are vying for their first career WTA Finals titles.
Coco Gauff Defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals
Aryna Sabalenka was the best hardcourt player this season. Gauff, after losing in straight sets to Barbora Krejcikova on Thursday, came out swinging and knocked off Sabalenka in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3. Sabalenka was the favorite to win the event.
What dreams are made of 💫@CocoGauff secures her spot in the final at the WTA Finals for the very first time in her career! #WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/4R67BYU8b8
— wta (@WTA) November 8, 2024
Coco Gauff, 20, etches her name in the record books again as the youngest player to beat World No. 1 (Sabalenka)and 2 (Iga Swiatek) at the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova did it in 2006.
Gauff will play Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng who defeated a flat Krejcikova in straight sets earlier in the day. Gauff and Zheng met once before with Gauff winning at the 2024 Rome Open quarterfinals.
Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova advance to WTA Finals doubles final
Taylor Townsend and her partner Katerina Siniakova will play for the WTA Finals doubles title on Saturday. The pair won the Wimbledon title after Siniakova paired with Gauff to win the French Open doubles title.
NEW LEVEL 🙌🙌🙌🙌@K_Siniakova and @TaylorTownsend are into the finals after defeating Chan/Kudermetova 6-0, 7-6(5). #WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/ThvRQoGrCA
— wta (@WTA) November 8, 2024
Siniakova, the World No. 1 in doubles, is a previous WTA Finals doubles champion with former partner Barbora Krejcikova in 2021.
Townsend and Siniakova won their semifinal match in straight sets over Veronika Kudermetova and Hao-ching Chan, 6-0, 7-6.
Kudermetova is also a previous champion with a different partner. She won the 2022 WTA Finals title with Elise Mertens.
Townsend and Siniakova, the eighth-seeded team, face the second-seeded team of Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski in the finals. Both teams were undefeated (4-0) this week. This is a rematch of the Wimbledon finals which Townsend and Siniakova won.
WTA Finals: Saturday Order of Play
Siniakova and Towsend take the court at 8 AM EST, and Gauff and Zheng play at 11 AM EST.
In addition to a large sum of money accumulated from a participation fee and match wins through the week, a win at the WTA Finals allows its champions to finish the season on a winning note.
ATP Finals and WTA Finals this year have the same overall prize money – $15,250,000. But they don’t distribute it the same way:
ATP pays more for winning round robin matches, WTA – for semifinal and final wins.
As result, WTA champions and finalists will earn more than ATP ones. pic.twitter.com/kSesnzRlNV— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) October 31, 2024
