China's Olympic tennis champion Zheng Qinwen narrowly missed the title in her WTA Finals debut, losing to Coco Gauff of the United States 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

After the two players split the first two sets, Gauff came from 2-0 and 5-3 down in the final set and was two points from defeat at one stage.

Yet she took the set to a tiebreaker and won the first six points.

Zheng threatened a comeback but Gauff took the victory off her third match point with a forehand winner as she came into the net.

"I know I was like a couple of points away from losing, but I just tried to stay in the moment honestly, and I'm really proud of myself," said Gauff, who's the first American to win the Finals since Serena Williams in 2014.

Zheng was looking to complete a season in which she reached a grand slam final for the first time at the Australian Open and delivered China’s first Olympic tennis singles gold medal.

“The match today, it’s just a couple of important points,” Zheng said. “The match was very close."

She added, "And then I had a great season. It's my first time in the WTA Finals. Even though the final did not go in my way, I still got a lot of things to learn." (Agencies)