The Coco Gauff and Zheng Qinwen marathon in Rome has been named the WTA Match of the Year for 2025.
On May 15th, Gauff and Zheng played one of the longest matches of the year after the world No. 3 earned a hard-fought 7-6 (3) 4-6 7-6 (4) win over the Chinese tennis star in three hours and 34 minutes of play. After coming back from a break down in the first set, the American also trailed 3-5 in the deciding set before staging an impressive comeback to reach her first Rome final.
The match featured drama and many twists and turns, but it also wasn't the prettiest as the two players combined for 156 unforced errors and 20 double faults.
For Gauff, it was her first Rome semifinal win after previously losing twice in the same stage. On the other side, Zheng was playing in her first semifinal at Foro Italico and just missed out on making the final.
What Gauff said after beating Zheng in Rome?
"I was just trying to go for every point. I knew before it was going to be a physical match. Last time we played was over three hours. Overall I'm just happy. Wasn't my best level at all, to be honest. Just happy to get through it and through to another final," the American said after the match.
Gauff also described the court as "so slow" and claimed that the conditions made it extremely difficult for her and Zheng.
"The whole match for me the court was so slow. Especially when the ball after like two games, they're so heavy. This was my second night match. My first one was first round. I was playing someone completely different game style. Yeah, it was tough. I think we're both struggling trying to hit through each other. I think in Riyadh we had a little bit more winners, aggressiveness. Today we were trying, but the ball wasn't going anywhere," Gauff said.
Gauff was later beaten by Jasmine Paolini in the Rome final.
