At 15, American Gauff wins her 1st WTA title

Coco Gauff is 15. She also is the owner of a WTA singles title.

The American beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 63, 16, 62 in the final of the Upper Austria Ladies tournament Sunday in Linz, making Gauff the youngest winner of a WTA singles trophy since 2004.

“This is a special moment for me,” Gauff said.

And Gauff managed to do it after losing in the last round of qualifying, then moving into the main draw as a “lucky loser” when another player withdrew.

“I’m still overwhelmed and shocked,” Gauff said, according to the WTA’s website. “I guess it’s crazy to say it’s my first WTA title. This was definitely not on the calendar at the beginning of the year, because I didn’t think I’d have a chance to get in, and now I’m the champion, so it’s crazy.”

Gauff ’s weeklong run, which included a victory over Kiki Bertens for her initial top10 win, is expected to move her into the top 75 when the WTA rankings are released Monday.

Gauff was 313th when Wimbledon began July 1. That’s where she burst onto the scene as the youngest qualifier in tournament history, then beat fivetime champion Venus Williams en route to making it to the fourth round.

Gauff won her first WTA doubles title in Washington in August, pairing with Caty McNally, before reaching the third round in singles at the U.S. Open.

Gauff is now the youngest woman to win a WTA singles championship since Nicole Vaidisova won two by the age of 15 years, 5 months in 2004.

Ostapenko, 22, has been ranked No. 5 and currently is No. 72.

Daniil Medvedev extended the form that made him the hottest player in men’s tennis when he captured the Shanghai Masters title with a 64, 61 win over Alexander Zverev. The thirdseeded Medvedev picked up his third title in six consecutive finals played since the tour returned to hard courts after Wimbledon.