Coco Gauff laughs off title tears with sights set on breakthrough moment in WTA end of season finale
Coco Gauff appeared to wipe a tear away from her eye as she added the China Open to her growing collection.
It brought back memories of the then 15-year-old prodigy's emotional interview after joining Naomi Osaka on court following a defeat in her first US Open in 2019.
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Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in Beijing for her eighth career title.
The 20-year-old became the first woman to win her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.
But the American insisted there were no waterworks this time as she jokingly referred to her willingness to show emotion on court.
"Oh, no, I didn't cry. It might be something in my eye," she said.
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"Trust me, I have cried after winning before. No, I didn't cry today. Must have been something in my eye.
"But I am the first to admit when I cry.
"No, I don't think I'll cry. Today was just like, Yeah, it's cool. It was not a crying day."
Gauff split with coach Brad Gilbert after failing to defend her 2023 US Open title earlier this year.
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“We’re working on a lot of developmental things. He’s great," Gauff said.
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"Obviously I still have JC on the team. For me, it was trying to find a mix of two people that work together well. So far, I mean, it’s obviously working result-wise.
“Just even behind the scenes and everything you guys don’t see, I think it’s great.
"I’m happy with my decision regardless if I lost [in the] first round or in a final this week.
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"So yeah, I’m happy to have him on the team. I feel like he’s already making significant progress. He and JC are working well.”
Gauff was delighted with victory but admitted the WTA 1000 triumph was 'not going to change my life'.
The rising star clearly has her sights set on bigger things, with the WTA Finals on the horizon next month.
She heads to the Wuhan Open as world No. 4 and is virtually guaranteed a spot in the end-of-season showdown.
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Gauff went 0-3 in the round-robin stage in 2022, but picked up her first wins last year to reach the semi-finals.
She was beaten in straight sets by compatriot Jessica Pegula in the last four and will hope to go a stage further this time around.
Given her incredible record of eight victories in nine WTA finals, she will be hard to stop if she reaches the showpiece for the first time.
Then it could be time for the waterworks.
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