LINZ: American teenage sensation Coco Gauff has become the youngest player to win a WTA title in last 15 years by sealing the Linz Open trophy.
Gauff, 15, defeated former Top 5 player Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, in the championship match on Sunday.
The youngster, who rose to fame at Wimbledon this year when she defeated five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round, went past Nicole Vadisova of Czech Republic, who was 15 and 5 months when she won her maiden WTA title in Tashkent in 2004.
"I'm still overwhelmed and shocked," Gauff was quoted as saying after her win by the WTA website. "I guess it's crazy to say it's my first WTA title. This was definitely not on the calendar at the beginning of the year, because I didn't think I'd have a chance to get in, and now I'm the champion, so it's crazy."
Gauff also becomes the second player in the last two seasons to claim a debut WTA singles title as a lucky loser, emulating fellow teenager Olga Danilovic, who was a lucky loser when she hoisted the trophy at the Moscow River Cup last season.
"It's been an unbelievable week for me," she said.