Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula to face off in the Wuhan Open final
In the Wuhan, China tournament, Coco Gauff defeated Jasmine Paolini, securing her place in the final where she will face her compatriot Jessica Pegula. Pegula, for her part, stopped Aryna Sabalenka’s winning streak in the championship. Gauff defeated Paolini with a score of 6-4, 6-3, despite committing seven double faults. The American tennis player demonstrated her ability to recover, especially in a match where both elite players had difficulties with their serves. Pegula, in a closely contested match, secured the victory with scores of 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2). This result, in addition to taking her to the final, ended Sabalenka’s streak of 20 consecutive victories in Wuhan. In their head-to-head matches, Pegula leads Gauff with a record of 4-2. However, this will be the first time they face each other in a final. Gauff, ranked third, came back from three breaks in the second set, including a series of five consecutive double faults. Finally, she won the last four games to secure her place in the final.Despite having changed her service coach in August, Gauff leads the women’s circuit this season with 378 double faults, surpassing the next player on the list by more than 120. However, Gauff also excels in another aspect: her 13 victories over top 10 players in WTA 1000 events are the most for any player under 22 since 2009. Jasmine Paolini, ranked fifth, had eliminated Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and had won her three previous matches against Gauff, all played this season. For her part, Pegula, in sixth place, managed to win four games in a row after being down 5-2 in the final set. Sabalenka saved two match points in the next game to force the tiebreaker. Sabalenka won the Wuhan Open in 2018 and 2019, and again in 2024, following the event’s return to the circuit.I did what was necessary to move forward.
Coco Gauff
