Gauff parted ways with Brad Gilbert shortly after the US Open and hired Daly just a week before the tournament started in Beijing. Their partnership ultimately proved fruitful, but things did not go smoothly.

The 20-year-old survived some tough matches to reach the final, hitting 31 double faults in her first five rounds. But she defeated Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in the championship match to lift her first trophy since the ASB Classic in Auckland.

After clinching her second title of the season, Gauff revealed she had to defy her new coach’s orders to make it to Beijing.

The American told the WTA that her camp wanted to skip the China Open in favor of a training block.

But she had the final say and chose to go to Beijing to compete. After her decision paid off, Gauff added: “I actually told my team I wanted to play against Beijing.

“We planned to just come to Wuhan. I just felt like I had to play and have fun. I enjoy Beijing.”

Gauff’s light-hearted approach to the tournament served her well. Her performance against Muchova was perhaps one of her best in a while and it helped that she felt no pressure.

“I was super relaxed when I went in. I thought: I don’t know, this competition isn’t going to change my life. When you go to matches like that, it’s super relaxed,” the 20-year-old explained.

“I also think about the experience of winning a 1000-level title in the past. Yes, that tournament was a lot of confidence. Again, it hasn’t changed my life.

“I knew that regardless of today’s result, I was proud. Honestly, I was telling myself the whole game that I’m proud of myself, how I’ve been able to overcome things and still work on whatever I’ve been practicing for and stick with it.”

Gauff will now be confident heading into the final WTA 1000 event of the year. The Wuhan Open will be her last tournament until the season-ending championships, for which she has all but qualified.