Coco Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-4 to capture the 2023 Cincinnati Open title on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:
- The win gives Gauff her first WTA 1000 title. In the semifinal, Gauff beat world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in three sets for the first time in her career.
- Gauff won 81 points in the final and converted 71 percent of her first serve points. She also broke Muchova’s serve five times.
- Gauff, 19, now has five WTA Tour titles. She is the first player since 2020 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki to win five WTA titles as a teenager.
👏 COCO 👏 GAUFF 👏
No.7 seed @CocoGauff locks in her first-ever Hologic WTA 1000 singles title!#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/we05qZwKQE
— wta (@WTA) August 20, 2023
Backstory
Gauff’s run in Cincinnati continues a stellar stretch of tennis in the summer court swing. Since losing in the first round at Wimbledon, Gauff won the Citi Open in Washington, her first WTA 500 title. In Montreal at the National Bank Open, Gauff lost in a hard-fought quarterfinal against fellow American Jessica Pegula.
Before Cincinnati, Gauff hadn’t reached a WTA 1000 final. Her previous best result in a WTA 1000 event was the semifinal at the Italian Open (2022) and Qatar Open (2023).
Gauff goes to the U.S. Open looking to win her first singles slam title. The last American woman to win the U.S. Open was Sloane Stephens in 2017.
What they’re saying
During the trophy ceremony, Gauff thanked her parents, Candi and Corey, for all their help and support over the years.
“The biggest thank you to my parents,” Gauff said. “My mom, I love you so much for being my emotional support. My dad … he’s the reason I’m here. The reason I play tennis. He’s the reason I believe I can do this.”
Muchova praised Gauff’s performance in Cincinnati.
“I knew it’d be a very tough task to win against someone like Coco,” Muchova said.
Required reading
(Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
