“They told me not to say anything”: Coco Gauff accidentally leaks her WTA Finals qualification

Coco Gauff gets ahead of the official announcement and confirmed her participation in the WTA Finals. Although the WTA has not made the official announcement yet, the American responded to an unofficial source that updates the live rankings and has confirmed the World No. 3's qualification.

Until Saturday night, the WTA had only officially announced the qualifications of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka for the Finals. However, the live rankings indicate that seven players have already qualified mathematically, leaving only one final spot to be confirmed, with Zheng Qinwen favored to secure it.

Gauff confirms WTA Finals spot 

Although the official WTA sites have not yet made the announcement, Coco Gauff learned about her qualification for the tournament, which brings together the top 8 players of the season, through Live-Tennis.eu: “I saw that I qualified on the ranking race,” said the 2023 US Open champion. “Oops, they said they didn’t announce it yet. If you look it up online, there’s a checkmark by my name. They told me not to say anything. Sorry. But it’s by my name. Yeah, LiveWTARanking.com. You can look it up.”

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Since the site is not officially WTA-affiliated, it should be viewed with caution, although it updates almost in real time with official scores determined by the WTA calendar. “I’m excited. I’m looking at dresses. They have a lot of things planned for us. I’m super excited. Yeah, I heard it’s going to be great,” added Coco Gauff.

The American qualified for the WTA Finals for the third consecutive time after winning the China Open. Gauff secured her second WTA 1000 title after defeating Karolina Muchova in the final, thus ensuring her spot in Riyadh. “I found out maybe two days ago. I don’t remember which round, maybe quarters or something,” she said after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the Wuhan semifinals.

Coco Gauff at 2023 WTA Finals.

“Yeah, I’m really happy to be qualified. I’m happy to be going there. Honestly, going into [Beijing] it was like, ‘Whatever happens, happens.’ Obviously, you want to do the more positive thing.”

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“It’s my first time not playing doubles,” added Gauff. “So, that’s going to be a different experience. But I’m excited. I’m looking at dresses. They have a lot of things planned for us. I’m super excited. Yeah, I heard it’s going to be great, so I’m excited,” she concluded.