Coco Gauff earns key rankings boost after overcoming nightmare start in China Open win

Coco Gauff has earned herself a handy rankings bonus thanks to a hard-fought China Open quarter-final victory on Thursday.

Gauff was not at her best against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva and failed to hit a winner throughout the entirety of the first set.

However, the world No 6 was able to rally to defeat the surprise quarter-finalist 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach her first WTA semi-final since the Berlin Open back in June.

Victory for Gauff means that she has successfully defended all her ranking points in Beijing, having also reached the last four of the event in 2023.

That is a significant boost for the 20-year-old, who fell out of the top five following her fourth round exit at the US Open.

Failure to defend her ranking points in the Chinese capital would have put her at risk of slipping further down, with world No 7 Zheng Qinwen hot on her heels.

However, Gauff, who holds 4,983 in both the official and live rankings, is now guaranteed to be ahead of Qinwen no matter what happens in Beijing.

The Chinese has 4,075 points in the live rankings, and can only move to a maximum of 4,860 points should she win the title at the WTA 1000 event.

Gauff also now has the opportunity to move back inside the world’s top five should she lift what would be the second WTA 1000 title of her career this weekend.

A run to the title would see the 20-year-old move to 5,593 ranking points, ahead of current world No 4 Elena Rybakina and world No 5 Jasmine Paolini.

A run to the title would see the 20-year-old move to 5,593 ranking points, ahead of current world No 4 Elena Rybakina and world No 5 Jasmine Paolini.

Rybakina’s semi-final points from 2023 will drop off after her pre-tournament withdrawal, while Paolini was beaten back in round three.

Gauff has also moved closer to breaking a milestone held by Caroline Wozniacki at WTA 1000 events thanks to victory over Starodubtseva.

The American has now reached seven WTA 1000 semi-finals before turning 21, with Wozniacki’s record of eight -since the format was introduced in 2009 – now in threat.

Gauff could potentially be in line to equal the Dane’s record at the Wuhan Open next week, with WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Doha taking place before her 21st birthday next season.