Coco Gauff may not have enjoyed much success in singles but she did not leave the Canadian Open without a trophy.
The 21-year-old returned to action in Montreal. This was Gauff’s first tournament since losing at Wimbledon to Dayana Yastremska on July 1.
The American entered the WTA 1000 event as the top seed but Gauff was beaten by Victoria Mboko, who is now in the final.
But the world number two is a handy doubles player and she reminded everyone of her talents in the format when she joined forces with McCartney Kessler in Canada.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
Coco Gauff has not played doubles since she teamed with Alexandra Eala at the Italian Open in May.
In their first event as a team they reached the quarterfinals and Gauff decided to give doubles action a break until arriving at the Canadian Open.
She went for glory alongside Kessler and the American duo were made to work hard for each and every victory.
Four of those five matches were decided by a 10-point match tiebreak, and Gauff and Kessler claimed the title by beating the experienced pair of Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai 6-4, 1-6, 13-11.
Following an epic victory Gauff posted a photo holding the title with Kessler and wrote on X: “Fun two weeks here in Montreal, glad I got to leave here with another one for the cabinet.
“Thank you McCartney for playing with me and for being so clutch & thank you guys for the support.” She added another message on Instagram which read: “I temporarily came out of doubles retirement and got a win!”
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesCoco Gauff now has 10 doubles titles to go with 10 singles titles
When Gauff won the French Open in June, that marked the tenth singles title of her career.
She has now won the same number of doubles titles after clinching the title at the Canadian Open.
This is the second time Gauff has triumphed in Canada, after she claimed the title in Toronto alongside Jessica Pegula.
After winning her first tournament with Kessler as her partner, Gauff took some time to send a message to the team they conquered in the final, Townsend and Zhang.
“Congratulations to Taylor (Townsend) and (Zhang) Shuai,” she said. “Individually, both are amazing people and amazing players, and have been at the top of the game, and I love you guys. So, thank you for a great match.“