American tennis star Coco Gauff revealed an unconventional source of motivation after her victory over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek at the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Gauff, who snapped a four-match losing streak against Swiatek with a straight-set 6-3, 6-4 win, attributed her success partly to “pettiness” — a reaction to doubters who predicted her loss before the match.
After her second career win over Swiatek, Gauff spoke about her mindset going into the game. While discussing the balance between the joy and pressure of competing at a high level, she said that comments from social media fueled her competitive spirit.
“I think for me, honestly… pettiness,” Gauff said, as reported by Ayush Vashistha of tennismajors.com. “Yeah, I think that’s the answer. I just love to say I’m right and stuff.”
Gauff noted that prior to the match, she received multiple comments suggesting she would lose to Swiatek, a player who has historically dominated their head-to-head encounters, winning 10 of their 12 previous meetings.
“I got a lot of comments on how I was gonna lose badly (to Swiatek) today. So I was like, ‘Okay, we’ll see!’” Gauff said. Her response was clear on the court, where she let her racquet “do the talking,” ultimately securing her spot in the WTA Finals semifinals.
Coco Gauff’s win against Swiatek first in over a year The win over Swiatek, her first since the 2023 Cincinnati Open, marked Gauff’s first straight-set victory against the Polish player, despite her struggle with serving, reflected by 11 double faults in the match. The win not only assured Gauff a place in the semifinals but also prevented Swiatek from moving up in the rankings, confirming Aryna Sabalenka’s position as year-end No. 1.
