She went on to win the whole tournament 😳

HELPING HAN Coco Gauff reveals she was warned NOT to play in Wuhan Open just days before earning $600,000 payday

COCO Gauff cheekily poked fun at coach Jean-Christophe Faurel after lifting the Wuhan Open title.

Gauff, 21, defeated American compatriot Jessica Pegula 6-4 7-5 to win the Masters 1000 tournament in China.

The former US Open champion endured a difficult tournament at Flushing Meadows this year, falling to Naomi Osaka in round four amid a slew of double faults and unforced errors.

One of the toughest competitors mentally in all of sports, Gauff bounced back from her US Open disappointment to excel on the Asian hard courts.

Last week she reached the semi-finals in Beijing before falling to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova.

This time around she did even better, blitzing through the Wuhan draw to lift the title, and earn $600,000 (£450k), without even dropping a set
During her victory speech, Gauff paid tribute to her coaching team, consisting of Faurel, Richard Woodroof, Maria Vargo and Gavin McMillan.

Cheekily taking a shot at Faurel, Gauff said, “I’d like to thank my team, it was a great Asian swing.

“I’m going to call JC out. He originally didn’t want me to come because I had a tough US Open!

“But I had to prove him wrong, I’m a very stubborn person so maybe he said that on purpose for me to have a good result here. But yeah, thank you guys.

Thank you Richard, thank you Maria. We have a new addition this Asian swing, Joe, he’s been a lot of fun, so I appreciate him.

“And then we have Gavin, he’s in South Africa right now, also a new addition but very important to this process and this result, so thank you all.

I know we have our ups and downs but this moment makes it worth it, so I appreciate you guys a lot.”

Gauff has a great relationship with beaten finalist Pegula, with the Team USA teammates having previously been regular doubles partners.

The two-time major champion added, “I’d like to congratulate Jess on an incredible tournament.

You’re playing a lot of three-setters, you’re a three-set queen, so I was determined to not let you get there today because it felt like the odds would be in your favour in the third set!

“When I came on the tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms, and that really goes a long way.

“It still goes a long way, so I appreciate you and it’s great to finally play in a final against you and I hope for many more.

“So congratulations and thank you, it’s an honour to share the court with you.”

Gauff is next set to be in action at the WTA Finals.