Gauff battles back to defeat Zheng and win WTA Finals in thrilling fashion

Defiant Coco Gauff rallied to defeat China's Zheng Qinwen 3-6 6-4 7-6(2) in a three-hour thriller on Saturday, becoming the youngest player to win the WTA Finals in 20 years and the first American champion since Serena Williams a decade ago.

Gauff, 20, stormed to a 6-0 lead in the final set tiebreak before easing to victory, collapsing to the court in celebration as she secured the year-end world number three position for the second time in a row.

It was the longest showpiece match in the WTA Finals since 2008, when times were first recorded.

"I was just trying my best to hang in there and I never gave up," a delighted Gauff said.

Olympic gold winner Zheng, seeded seventh and making her WTA Finals debut, claimed the first set in under an hour, saving all five break points to keep Gauff at bay.

Zheng took a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Gauff rallied back, breaking Zheng to love in the sixth game and converting another break opportunity in the eighth, before the duo traded breaks to finish the set.

Zheng put the American on the back foot early in the third set, where Gauff twice found herself down a break and had the victory within her grasp as she served for the match at 5-4.

But she was undone by four unforced errors, which allowed Gauff to level, and the American dominated the tiebreak.

"It was a really great match. Qinwen played some unbelievable tennis," third seed Gauff added.

Gauff also won her only prior match against Zheng in May, a quarterfinal at the Italian Open in Rome.

Earlier, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe defeated Czech Katerina Siniakova and American Taylor Townsend 7-5, 6-3 in the doubles final.

It was delicious retribution for Dabrowski and Routliffe, who lost to Siniakova and Townsend in this year's Wimbledon final.

The victory ended a fantastic week in Riyadh for Gauff, who became the youngest player in 18 years to beat both the world number one and number two at the same tournament, following Russian Sharapova at the 2006 U.S. Open.

The American was also the youngest player to win the WTA Finals since Sharapova did in 2004.

Gauff lost to Barbora Krejcikova in the group stage but defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula and holder and world number two Iga Swiatek to win the Orange section 2-1. She then stunned top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.

This season, Gauff has reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and French Open, won the China Open in Beijing, and reached the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open.

After losing her first match to Sabalenka at the WTA Finals, Zheng defeated fifth seed Elena Rybakina and fourth seed Jasmine Paolini to finish second in the purple group before defeating Wimbledon winner Krejcikova in the semi-finals.

Zheng became only the second Chinese player to reach the WTA Finals, following Li Na in 2013.

"I want to say thanks to everyone who came tonight. It was a long week. Thanks to all the staff and my team because you guys try to keep me healthy," Zheng said.

"I’ve been through a lot of matches this year, but I’m still on court fighting. Thanks to you. I wouldn’t be here without you. Congrats to the champion. It’s your first title here. I wish you have a great future."

SportsLigue