What you need to know about WTA Finals final when Coco Gauff plays Qinwen Zheng

The WTA Finals final is set. The best thing about the last match of the WTA season is that the two players playing arguably the best current tennis will face each other in the final. Coco Gauff versus Qinwen Zheng could make for an instant classic.

The two have played each other once, so there is not enough personal history to imply who might have the advantage. Both hit the ball with pace so there is no power advantage, either. Neither has won the WTA Finals before, so there is also no edge in motivation.

Win or lose, Gauff will finish as the year-end No. 3. Zheng could move up to No. 4 with the victory. Both players will be threats at every Grand Slam tournament next year and could challenge for the year-end No. 1 in 2025.

WTA Finals final: Everything you need to know about Coco Gauff versus Qinwen Zheng

WTA Finals details:

• Location: King Saud University Indoor Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Time: 11 am ET
• How to watch: Tennis Channel

The surface of the court is hard so it does not truly favor Gauff or Zheng. Both have excellent serves and groundstrokes that work better on the surface. This should be a match that features two players who move around the court well and punish mistakes.

Predicting who wins between Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng

Gauff and Zheng have only played once before and that was at the Rome Open early in 2024. The American won that in straight sets, but that was played on clay which Zheng has not yet excelled at. On a faster surface, neither player should have a real advantage.

Zheng is certainly having her best season on the WTA tour. She reached her first Grand Slam final (she lost to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open), won gold at the Paris Olympics, and reached the first final of a Masters 1000 event. She also seems to be playing her best tennis of the year currently and she has the power to defeat any player on the tour.

Still, this match will probably come down to how cleanly Gauff plays. If she can limit her troublesome double faults, and keep her winners versus unforced errors ratio relatively even, she should win. Her ability to defend seemingly any shot her opponent gives her is not just the best on the current tour, but ranks among the all-time best.

She can frustrate Zheng and press the Chinese player to try to force shots she might not otherwise do. Still, if Gauff gives Zheng too many free points, the Chinese player could win in straight sets. The guess here is that Gauff plays as she did against Sabalenka and wins in straight sets.

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