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First Zheng Qinwen, then Coco Gauff, both hand in hand with a mascot. Gauff wearing headphones, Qinwen not. Both are in purple – unless that’s the lights
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Good afternoon! Welcome to the WTA final from Riyadh – a battle of the bright young things, between the USA’s Coco Gauff (20), who is finishing the season with a bang, and the charismatic Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen (22) – whose record since an early defeat at Wimbledon has been astonishing, winning 31 of 36 matches, and picking up two titles plus that Paris triumph. She is playing in her first WTA final, the second Chinese player after Li Na.
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The WTA finals are the biggest tournament outside the slams, with mega bucks -12 million dollars – available courtesy of the Saudis and their attempts to buy up tennis alongside much of the rest of sport. This is the first time a women’s tournament has been held in the Kingdom and it has gone ahead despite disquiet – with promises from both the WTA and Saudi Arabia that it will be a force for good. At the moment, the players are going along with it and happy with how things have gone – but Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have called “a step backwards” for the game.
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Play starts at 4pm approx GMT.
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main events
1st set: Zheng* 3-3 Gauff (* indicates next server) We stopped while the referee marked someone in the crowd for moving. Apparently 21,000 people participated in the entire tournament, but today and yesterday were at capacity (4,000 people), so Jonathan Overend estimates that the rest of the time was probably half full. Chung's hot backhand jumped past Gauff and brought the game to 30-all. This seems to have inspired Zheng. She got her first break point on Gauff's serve, but then handed the advantage to Gauff with a forcefully overhit crosscourt forehand. Gauff took a shot in front of the goal, but it ended the game. This is magical tennis.
1st set: Zheng 3-2 Gauff* (* indicates the next server) A boring game full of huge shots and ferocious rallies. With an inside-out backhand, Chung won the first point on serve. Gauff is extremely fast and runs all over the baseline like a woman in seven-league boots. Gauff hit an inch-perfect forehand and Jen hit a long one to give Gauff two break points. Chung saved the game with a perfectly balanced cross-court winner and a backhand down the line. Chung saved a third break point, and Gauff was disgusted with herself for giving Chung the advantage with a limp forehand. However, a crosscourt forehand brought it back to deuce. But in the end, Chung wins. they sit down.
1st set: Zheng 2*-2 Gauff (* indicates next server) Gauff wears a deeper purple, almost royal purple dress and matching headband. Following the double fault, there are two ridiculous first serves. Jen pulls back to deuce, but a screeching rally gets the advantage thanks to some great defense from Gauff, and she quickly pockets the game.
1st set: Zheng 2-1 Gauff *(* indicates the next server) Jen hit a backhand into the net to make it 15-all, and Gauff fought back with a power-hitting rally, but ultimately nothing came of it. Chung's coach, Pere Riba, sits with his arms crossed and watches.
1st set: Zheng* 1-1 Gauff (* indicates next server) Wham Bam – Gauff wins the game in about 60 seconds with a hot hold.
first set
1st set: Zheng 1-0 Gauff * (* indicates the next server) Let's go – Mr. Zheng, dressed in purple pleated gym clothes and a vest coat, will serve us. The referee quiets the crowd. Gauff couldn't do anything with her first two serves, but she retreated when Chung hit long on two rallies, and then brought it to deuce again after a 17-hit rally. Gauff grabs a valuable break point, but Jen saves the set with a monster serve from a sharp forehand.
gauff Kinwen is the youngest WTA Finals finalist since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Kinwen won the toss and elected to serve. A large crowd filled the arena to watch them warm up.
Who will win? TV experts are divided 1:1.
Players come out!
beginning Zheng Qinwen, then Coco Gauff, both holding hands with the mascot. Gauff is wearing headphones, but Chingwen is not. Both are purple – unless it's a light
We talked a lot about Gauff's forehand. She changed teams, parting ways with Brad Gilbert after the U.S. Open and teaming up with Matt Daly. Since then, she has skyrocketed up the rankings, with her forehand being one of the main talking points.
“I don't want to reveal too much about what's going on, but change is happening,” Gauff said. “I'm playing with them from Beijing.”
lots of flashing purple lights Drums are pounding in Riyadh, but Tim Henman is still wearing a smart jacket, so there's no need to panic. I think the players will leave soon.
This was Tumaini Carayol's take on the midweek final.
preamble
Hello! Welcome to the WTA Finals from Riyadh – a battle between the bright young men of Team USA and Team USA. coco gauff Charismatic Olympic gold medalist finishes the season in style (20) Zheng Qinwen (22) – His record since his early defeat at Wimbledon has been astonishing; He won 31 out of 36 matches, winning two titles and a victory in Paris. She will be appearing in her first WTA final and will be the second Chinese player after Li Na.
The WTA finals are the biggest non-slam tournaments, with a whopping $12 million in prize money up for grabs thanks to Saudi Arabia and its bid to buy tennis, along with many other sports. . This will be the first time that a women's tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia, and despite concerns, the decision to go ahead was made with promises from both the WTA and Saudi Arabia that the tournament would be a lasting force. For now, the players have come to terms with it and are happy with the way things are going, but Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova claim the match was a “step backwards”.
The match begins at approximately 4pm GMT.
