American tennis legend Lindsay Davenport has come to the defence of Cori Gauff as she feels that the exhaustion and fatigue were a big reason why the 18-year-old went winless in her WTA Finals debut. Gauff, who made her maiden Grand Slam final at this year’s French Open, suffered straight-set defeats to Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina in her first two group singles match.
Gauff also competed in the doubles event with Jessica Pegula as the American duo went 0-3. After Gauff lost each of her first five WTA Finals match, Davenport explained why Gauff should not be criticized.
Davenport comes to the defence of Gauff
“It’s the first season that Coco Gauff is not under the age of eligibility.
She’s played over 20 tournaments, she’s looked exhausted. She’s kind of looked the same and Guadalajara, and I think for a player that was such a great junior, it’s been so fun to get to the top. But also, you’re normally, you don’t take five losses in a row.
Yeah, two in Guadalajara with the singles and the doubles. And then you start here with losing two doubles and the other singles, I think it’s a lot for her. She goes back, she’s only 18. Let her have some fun, and we want to see her playing with a smile,” Davenport said of Gauff, per Tennishead.
Also, Davenport wasn’t interested in criticizing Pegula, who went 0-6 in her WTA Finals debut. Pegula maybe didn’t enjoy a big WTA Finals debut but in 2022 she became a WTA 1000 champion and a top-3 player. “I’m not sure how many people a year ago would have chosen her (Jessica Pegula) to be third in the world and the highest-ranked American.
But Pegula – she puts in so much hard work quietly. Everything has gotten better about her game,” Davenport said of Pegula.
