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Coco Gauff has withdrawn from the Zhengzhou Open and now her focus officially turns on the WTA Finals in Cancun. Gauff, 19, was scheduled to highlight the player field at next week's Zhengzhou event. But after competing in this week's WTA 1000 event in Beijing and reaching the semifinal there, Gauff decided against also playing in Zhengzhou.
Gauff last played on Saturday, when she suffered a 2-6 3-6 loss to Iga Swiatek in the Beijing semifinal. Now that Gauff is out of Zhengzhou, her next appearance will come at the WTA Finals - the season-ending tournament that is taking place between October 29 - November 5.
Coco Gauff has withdrawn from Zhengzhou.
After winning a Grand Slam & stringing together a 16 match win streak, she probably wants some rest.
Next stop… WTA Finals. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/2TRTPQZCHF — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 8, 2023
Why Gauff accepted a Zhengzhou wildcard in the first place?
When Gauff accepted a main draw wildcard into Zhengzhou, some wondered why the American decided to make that move.
At the start of her week in Beijing, Gauff gave an answer to that question. "Yeah, I mean, after that tournament, assuming if I do well, I would have two weeks before the Finals. Really I wanted to have a second tournament in case this one doesn't go as well.
I wanted matches before the WTA Finals because from the US Open to the Finals is a long stint. If you lose early here, the Finals is a long stint. I wanted to play at least two tournaments down here. Playing the last week would have been tough, too quick of a turnaround before WTA Finals, so we decided to play that tournament.
Yeah, I mean, assuming all goes well, I could do well there, then be in good form for the Finals," Gauff explained in Beijing. Despite the Beijing semifinal loss, Gauff will undoubtedly arrive at the WTA Finals as one of the top favorites for the title.
After winning her first WTA 1000 and Grand Slam titles in Cincinnati and the US Open, Gauff will also try to win her first WTA Finals this year.