WTA Match of the Year announcement leaves tennis fans questioning the decision

The WTA has named the Italian Open semi-final between Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng as its Match of the Year, an award decided by fan votes.

Gauff defeated Zheng 7–6(3), 4–6, 7–6(4) in Rome in a match that ran over three and a half hours, wrapping up well past midnight.

While the match had plenty of tension, it also featured 156 unforced errors between them, with Gauff responsible for 82 of those.

Despite the fan vote, many others have expressed their surprise at the choice on social media.

One person wrote: “This has to be a joke (followed by three laughing face emojis).”

Another said: “When this match completed….I commented as a joke that this will be named match of the year (laughing face emojis).”

Someone else simply added: “No words. Who would want to relive that?”

Coco Gauff wins WTA Match of the Year Award

The Italian Open semifinal between Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng has been named WTA Match of the Year, as voted by fans.

The match in Rome lasted over three and a half hours, finishing after midnight. While it was a tight contest, it also featured 156 unforced errors, with 82 coming from Gauff.

Despite the fan vote deciding the award, plenty of people online seemed puzzled by the choice.

“This has to be a joke,” one person posted on X (formerly Twitter), while another added: “When this match completed….I commented as a joke that this will be named match of the year.”

There were also comments like “No words. Who would want to relive that?” and questions about its worthiness given there were 20 double faults in total.

One even called it “probably the ugliest match of the season,” pointing to record-breaking error stats and saying it wasn’t a good advert for women’s tennis compared to previous winners.

A look at past winners

The Italian Open clash is now part of an award list that began back in 2013. Past winners include matches involving Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka.

This year’s pick breaks Swiatek’s streak, too. She had won back-to-back awards for her Madrid Open finals against Sabalenka in 2023 and 2024 but wasn’t featured this time around.