After winning the WTA Finals, tennis player Coco Gauff was taken aback by her mind-blowing prize.
The 20-year-old athlete defeated Zheng Qinwen in a thrilling match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Gauff came back to win the second set 6-4 after trailing by a set, but the three-hour match was finally settled by a tie-break. Gauff won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2). Moreover, Gauff also overcame Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked player and the second-ranked player in the world.
An amount of $4.8 million (£3.7 million) was awarded to Guaff, and it is said to be the biggest prize money in women’s tennis history.
About the prize money, Gauff said: “I didn’t know, like I knew it was some money, but I didn’t know that much… Oh it means a lot to me… I have bought a house… I’m going to a music festival next week. So, I don’t know, I’m not someone who likes to spend a lot of money to be honest. I don’t know what I’ll do with it. That’s a lot of money…”
She added: “Oh gosh, I hope I’m like one of the highest-paid female tennis players this year, so that’ll be exciting. Honestly, I wanted to win this for myself I didn’t know that it was the biggest prize check on this tour, I didn’t know anything about that. I knew there was money, but I try not to never play for this, but that’s cool.”
Furthermore, the competition splits the best eight female players into two groups of four, with the top two of each group qualifying for the semi-finals. Gauff, a former US champion, has experienced a difficult schedule at the WTA Finals, where she became the youngest US winner since Serena Williams in 2001.
Undoubtedly, this season has been eventful for Gauff. She won the French Open doubles in June and was a winner at the China Open last month. Moreover, she was part of Team USA at the Olympics and achieved two Grand Slam singles semi-finals at the Australian and French Opens.
Source: The Mirror