The 14-year-old American may have played her last junior tennis match. 14-year-old American Coco Gauff became the youngest Orange Bowl 18s champion since Nicole Vaidisova in 1995 on Sunday in Plantation, Florida, defeating China’s Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Your 2018 Orange Bowl girls’ 18s champ: @CocoGauff. She beats Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to become, at 14 years old, the youngest Orange Bowl girls’ champion since Anna Kournikova in 1995. pic.twitter.com/lzEo6UyLdD
— USTA (@usta) December 9, 2018
Top-seeded Gauff didn’t drop a set until the final when she rallied back from 4-2 down in the decider after a prolonged rain delay in Florida.
“I remembered saying this in my head: ‘All these people are here, and they are still rooting for you, and you’re down 4-2. Then you should start rooting for yourself, too,’ and I think that helped turn the match around,” Gauff said after the final.
The American went 31-5 in junior singles matches and won the Roland Garros Girls Singles title this year, becoming the youngest player to win that title since 1993.
Great way to finish the season 🍊#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/0ueWKcpUet
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) December 9, 2018
Finland’s Otto Virtanen defeated American Zane Kahn in the Boys’ 18s singles final, 7-5, 6-4.
