15-year-old Coco Gauff beats Jelena Ostapenko for first WTA title
Cori Gauff of US kisses the trophy after she won her WTA-Upper Austria Ladies final tennis match against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on October 13, 2019 in Linz, Austria. (Photo by BARBARA GINDL / APA / AFP) / Austria OUT (Photo by BARBARA GINDL/APA/A (BARBARA GINDL/APA/AFP)
LINZ, Austria - American teenager Coco Gauff won her first WTA title by beating Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to capture the Upper Austria Ladies on Sunday.
The 15-year-old Gauff, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and third round at the U.S. Open, bounced back after losing a one-sided second set to win comfortably.
Gauff had earlier called Linz "my little lucky place" and its charm held for the teenager through the final despite a late wobble. After racing out to a 5-0 lead in the deciding set, Gauff dropped two late games to Ostapenko before closing out the match.
The win makes the Florida teen the youngest WTA winner since Nicole Vaidisova in 2004.
Gauff had lost in the qualifying rounds, but ended up in the tournament after another player pulled out due to an injury.