Coco Gauff’s title defense came to an end as she lost to Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals.
Sabalenka continued her perfect record at the WTA Finals by sweeping aside the 2024 winner in straight sets.
The victory confirms that Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula will go through to the semi-finals, where they’ll play Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina respectively.
As a result of Gauff’s exit from the tournament, a streak dating back to 2015 will continue at the WTA Finals.
Coco Gauff continues failed WTA Titles defense trend
The WTA Finals has had a different winner in the last nine years and Gauff’s exit confirms that trend will continue in 2025.
Gauff and Iga Swiatek entered the competition as the only previous winners, but neither woman has managed to make it past the group stage.
| WTA Finals winners | Year |
| Agnieszka Radwanska | 2015 |
| Dominika Cibulkova | 2016 |
| Caroline Wozniacki | 2017 |
| Elina Svitolina | 2018 |
| Ash Barty | 2019 |
| N/A | 2020 |
| Garbine Maguruza | 2021 |
| Caroline Garcia | 2022 |
| Iga Swiatek | 2023 |
| Coco Gauff | 2024 |
Whoever the winner ends up being, out of Rybakina, Anisimova, Sabalenka, or Pegula, it will ensure the bizarre trend continues into its tenth year.
In contrast, the ATP Finals have had several multiple time winners in that time frame.
Novak Djokovic has won the tournament three times since 2015, while Alexander Zverev picked up two trophies in 2018 and 2021.
Serena Williams is the last woman to win the tournament on multiple occasions, having won the competition in back-to-back years between 2012 and 2014.
Coco Gauff continues bizarre WTA Finals winner curse
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Gauff has failed to make it through the round robin phase after winning the tournament the year prior.
The same thing happened to 2023 winner Swiatek, who crashed out in the group stage in 2024 after finishing third.
2022 winner Caroline Garcia did not even qualify for the 2023 event, and the same happened to 2021 winner Garbine Muguruza.
The WTA Finals continues to prove it’s one of the most unpredictable tournaments on the entire calendar and it’s near-impossible to call a winner.
Rybakina, who is yet to lose at the tournament, only snuck in at the last minute while fellow semi-finalists Anisimova is playing in her first WTA Finals.
