Coco Gauff has revealed how criticism of her summer form made her even more determined to “not let anyone talk me down” after ending her season with victory at the WTA Finals.

Gauff won 13 of 15 matches to end the year, with the only losses coming to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the Wuhan Open and to Barbora Krejcikova in a dead-rubber match at the WTA Finals.

It was an impressive return to form for Gauff after a summer slump that saw her lose early at the Paris Olympics, win a match in Toronto and Cincinnati and exit the US Open in the round of 16 as the defending champion .

“I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the title was like ‘Gauff’s Slump Summer’ or something.

“I looked at it and said, ‘Dang, I’ve got to change something.’ And then I lost a pretty tough match against Emma (Navarro) at the US Open. A lot of people criticized my season, you know, “it was a flop.” I know all the Twitter terms.

“I think for me it was just motivation. I’m the author of my own story and I’m not going to let anyone write me down.”

The WTA Finals win sees Gauff join Iga Swiatek as the only active players under the age of 30 to complete wins at every level of the WTA Tour.

After the win, she called out her supporters and “haters” alike.

Writing on X, Gauff first posted, “lol safe to say I beat the bad season accusations.”

She followed that up with, “Also, I know I tend to focus on the ‘doubters/haters’ but this one is really for all my supporters! You’ll hold it because I win or lose! Thank you for that. I understand you and I appreciate you and I know some of you are a little petty like me so it feels good to shut them up.”

This isn’t the first time Gauff has talked about being fueled by negativity.

After her US Open victory in 2023, she thanked “the people who didn’t believe in me … the people who thought they were putting water on my fire, you’re really putting gas on it.”

At the WTA Finals, she was the underdog in matches against Swiatek and Sabalenka, but defeated both in straight sets.

Asked how she handles the negative comments, Gauff said, “I don’t really talk to my team or anybody.

“Sometimes, my love, but not to a deep degree. I do a lot of journaling and I think it’s just a lot of reflection and self-awareness. I have a therapist. I haven’t been in a while, but I do, I try to go once every two weeks, schedule permitting.

“I think a combination of her, me and obviously my parents. My dad is pretty mean like me. I’m pretty sure the first thing he’ll say when I call him is something about what people have been saying about me .”

Jessica Pegula is also missing from the event, so Team USA will be led by Danielle Collins.