Ons Jabeur thrashed by Coco Gauff in WTA Finals opener as Iga Swiatek starts with win

Ons Jabeur admitted she made “a lot of mistakes” after starting her WTA Finals campaign with a thumping 6-1, 6-0 defeat against US Open champion Coco Gauff in Cancun.

The 19-year-old American raced through the first set to win 6-0 in just 23 minutes and then shrugged off a rain delay of just over an hour to take the second set 6-1 for a convincing win – her first ever in the season-ending championship.

Gauff, who lost all six of her singles and doubles matches in her debut tournament last year in Fort Worth, breezed past three-time major runner-up Jabeur, will now take face Polish world No 2 Iga Swiatek.

“She played really well,” Jabeur said after the match. “She played a correct match, didn't make a lot of mistakes. On my part, I did make a lot of mistakes. Not my best day on the court, but, yeah, that’s tennis sometimes.”

Gauff has now won 50 matches this season, with eight coming against top 10 opponents, and she is the first teenager to reach a half century or more victories in a single season since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.

“I'm just happy to finally get a win here in this event,” she said. “After the rain delay, I was just focused on keeping my foot on the gas pedal.”

Gauff is playing her first tournament since splitting with coach Pere Riba after the China Open and is in Mexico with Brad Gilbert, who was one of her two coaches during the run of 12 consecutive victories – and 18 in 19 matches – that culminated with her first Grand Slam title in New York in September.

“Unfortunately, it wasn't my decision,” Gauff said. “But we had to end the partnership. If it was up to me, I would have loved to have him here. But you know, things happen. Life happens. So no bad terms on our end.

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