"I'm not going to let anybody write me off" - Coco Gauff on using vitriol from doubters to cap season with WTA Finals victory

American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff added another accolade to her impressive resume following her victory at the 2024 WTA Finals, and the 20-year old later disclosed how she used the doubt from her critics as motivation to end her season on a high note.

The Atlanta native was in red-hot form during the season-ending event in Riyadh, defeating Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka en route to the final. Gauff faced China's Qinwen Zheng for the title on Saturday, rallying from a set down to win her biggest title this season.

Read also

Barbora Krejcikova calls out Tennis Channel after 'unprofessional' remarks on her appearance

Her performance was fueled by her critics, admits Gauff

The 2023 US Open champion went through a slump during the North American hard court season, winning only one match before heading to Flushing Meadows to defend her title. Gauff fell in the round of 16 to compatriot Emma Navarro, and later spoke about how she used the negativity from her detractors to push herself even further.

"I remember after my loss in Cincinnati, they have the TV on Tennis Channel in the locker room," Gauff said after the WTA Finals. "I couldn't hear what they were saying but the headline was like 'Gauff's Slump Summer' or something like that.
"I looked at that and I was just like, 'Dang, I have to turn it around somehow'. And then I lost a pretty tough match against Emma [Navarro] at the US Open. A lot of people were critiquing my season, you know, 'flop era.'
"I know all the Twitter terms. I think for me it was just motivation. I'm the author of my own story, and I'm not going to let anybody write me off."