Oct 11, 2025, 09:34 AM ET
Coco Gauff had more struggles with her serve but overcame seven double faults to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday and reach the Wuhan Open final.
Gauff will face Jessica Pegula in Sunday’s title match after her fellow American came from behind to oust top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
The third-ranked Gauff edged Paolini by winning the battle of converted breaks 7-5 as both top-10 players struggled with their service games.
Gauff fought back from three breaks in the second set, which included a run of five consecutive double faults, and won the final four games to advance to the final.
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“I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.
Gauff, 21, who changed her serving coach in August, leads the women’s circuit this season with 378 double faults, over 120 more than the next player.
But she also excelled in another stat: Her 13 career wins over top-10 players at WTA 1000 events are the most by any player before turning 22 since 2009, the circuit said.
The fifth-ranked Paolini had eliminated Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and had won her previous three matches against Gauff, all played this season.
Pegula’s win set up only the third all-American WTA 1000 final since its inception in 2009, having also contested the last one in 2024 in Toronto when she defeated Amanda Anisimova in three sets.
Sabalenka was the three-time defending champion and boasted a 20-match winning streak at the tournament.
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
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