Coco Gauff's serving woes came back to haunt her against Aryna Sabalenka, allowing the Belarusian to recover from behind and seal her place in the Wuhan Open final.
In recent months, Gauff and Sabalenka have been the two most in-form players on the WTA Tour. Sabalenka sealed her first US Open last month after winning the Cincinnati Open a few weeks before.
After enduring a difficult few months, Gauff returned to form during the Asian swing, winning her second WTA-1000 title at the China Open in Beijing last week, beating Karolina Muchova in the final.
That justified the decision to part ways with Brad Gilbert and hire new coach Matt Daly. Gauff has praised the impact of her new coach, who is known as an expert in grip changes.
Sabalenka and Gauff also have one of the most engaging rivalries on the WTA Tour. The American overcame Sabalenka to win her sole Grand Slam title to date at the US Open last year, recovering from a set down in the final.
Their previous match before the Wuhan Open was one of the most high-quality contests of 2024 at the Australian Open. Sabalenka won 7-6, 6-4, but that score did not reflect how good the match was, with Gauff actually playing better in Melbourne than in the US Open final.
Many fans expected all the sets to be close. However, Gauff produced what may have been the best set of her career to stun Sabalenka and the crowd in Wuhan at the start of the match.
The 20-year-old thrived against Sabalenka's powerful hitting, which usually unsettles her opponents. That firepower is largely why the three-time Grand Slam champion will become the new world No. 1 the week after the Wuhan Open ends.
Aside from a couple of double faults, Gauff was faultless in the opening set. She used Sabalenka's pace to direct the ball with pace all around the court, using her superior athleticism to keep the Belarusian off-balance.
Gauff raced into a 5-0 lead, threatening to hand a rare 6-0 set to Sabalenka, but the 26-year-old avoided that fate with some strong serving. It only delayed the inevitable, though, and Gauff took the opening set 6-1
Sabalenka went off the court, hoping to clear her mind for the challenge of turning the match around. Gauff kept herself warm and in the zone by hitting serves while her opponent was off the court.
Getting off to a positive start felt important for the two-time Australian Open, but the American remained utterly relentless in the rallies. Sabalenka saved a breakpoint, but Gauff then produced stunning winners off her forehand and backhand to break again.
Gauff lost a service game for the first time in the next game, but she got straight back to business after, breaking Sabalenka for a fourth time, including a stunning backhand return down the line off a first serve.
However, Gauff's service issues continued to give Sabalenka hope. She hit several double faults to be broken at 3-2 and 4-3 up, and the crowd started to gasp after the American double faults.
Sabalenka held serve to take the lead at 5-4, and Gauff could not fend off that pressure. The 20-year-old hit her 11th double fault while getting broken to hand her opponent the set 4-6 and take the match to a third set.
Gauff left the court afterward, but that did not stop Sabalenka's momentum or her serving woes. She was broken again before the Belarusian held after a long service game, fending off multiple breakpoints.
The American had another chance to break at 15-40 up but missed a drop shot in the middle of the court, allowing the current US Open champion to overcome that pressure and hold for 4-1 up.
But Gauff is one of the mentally toughest players in tennis. Her serving issues and missed chances did not stop the 20-year-old from digging in and fighting, and she broke back to take the set to 4-3 in Sabalenka's favor.
However, Gauff's serving problems proved too much to overcome in the end. She was broken for a final time at 4-5, confirming Sabalenka's 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win and place in the Wuhan Open final.
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