By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday October 19, 2022
Coco Gauff and Caroline Garcia joined the eight-player WTA Finals field, with Gauff qualifying for the first time.
Photo Source: AP
When the Guadalajara Open Akron commenced this week, 17 players were in the hunt for the final five qualifying spots for the WTA Finals in Forth Worth, which begin on October 31.
As of Wednesday evening, only three spots remain.
Coco Gauff and Caroline Garcia have booked their spots in the eight-player field, as both learned the news after Aryna Sabalenka fell in three sets to Liudmila Samsonova in second-round action in Mexico.
Gauff, who will be 18 years and 239 days old at the end of the WTA Finals, becomes the youngest player to compete at the WTA Finals since 2005 when Maria Sharapova reached the semifinals aged 18 and 208 days. Gauff will also be the youngest American to contest the event since then 18-year-old Lindsay Davenport's runner-up finish in 1994.
The current World No.7, who has qualified for both singles and doubles, has had a sensational season that included a trop to her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland-Garros.
On Wednesday Gauff celebrated by notching a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory over Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto to set a round of 16 tussle with Martina Trevisan.
Garcia, who is due to face either Belinda Bencic or Sloane Stephens in the round of 16 at Guadalajara, qualifies for the singles field for the second time – A Frenchwoman has not won the prestigious WTA Finals title since Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.