WUHAN, China – Coco Gauff overcame seven double faults to defeat Jasmine Paolini and will face compatriot Jessica Pegula in the Wuhan Open final. Pegula, for her part, ended Aryna Sabalenka’s winning streak in the tournament. Gauff defeated Paolini with a score of 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday, after winning the battle of converted breaks 7-5, in a match where both top 10 players had difficulties with their serves. Pegula secured a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory to secure the American final and end Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak in Wuhan. Pegula has a 4-2 lead over Gauff in their head-to-head matchups, although this is the first time they will face each other in a final. Gauff, ranked number 3, came back from three breaks in the second set, which included a streak of five consecutive double faults, and won the last four games to advance to the final.
Gauff, 21 years old, who changed her service coach in August, leads the women’s circuit this season with 378 double faults, more than 120 more than the next player. However, she also stood out in another statistic: her 13 career wins over top 10 players in WTA 1000 events are the most for any player before turning 22 since 2009. Paolini, ranked number 5, had eliminated the Wimbledon champion, Iga Swiatek, in the quarterfinals and had won her three previous matches against Gauff, all played this season. Pegula, ranked number 6, was losing 5-2 in the final set before winning four games in a row. Sabalenka then saved two match points in the next game to force the tiebreak. Sabalenka won the Wuhan Open in 2018 and 2019, and again in 2024, after the event returned to the circuit.I did what I needed to get through.
Coco Gauff
