Stat of the Day: In first WTA event as No. 1 seed, Coco Gauff wins title in Auckland

Being the favorite at a tournament doesn’t always help a player, with all of the pressure and expectations that come with it—but for Coco Gauff in Auckland this week, it didn’t get in the way at all.

Playing as the No. 1 seed at a WTA event for the first time in her career, the 18-year-old went all the way to the title, and in dominant fashion too, only dropping 22 games in five matches.

She capped her perfect start to the season with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Rebeka Masarova in the final, fighting off all 10 break points she faced and breaking the Spaniard herself five times.

“It’s been great, honestly a great week for me despite the rain,” said Gauff, who won two of her five matches en route to the title indoors because of the weather, and also endured a lengthy rain delay in the final right when she got to set point serving at 5-1, ad-in.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my season.”

Gauff’s toughest match of the week was a 6-4, 6-4 second-round victory over 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

She beat Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria in the first round, 6-4, 6-1, and Venus Williams’ conquerer Zhu Lin in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-2, before going on overdrive in the last two rounds, defeating Danka Kovinic in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-2, and Masarova, 6-1, 6-1.

Gauff comes away with the third WTA title of her career, having previously lifted trophies on indoor hard courts in Linz, Austria in 2019 (as a 15-year-old) and on clay in Parma, Italy in 2021.