Coco Gauff solves Aryna Sabalenka for first final at WTA Finals, will face Zheng Qinwen for Riyadh title

Coco Gauff’s fall surge continues with her most impressive week yet at the WTA Finals: the No. 3 seed backed up her win over Iga Swiatek with another stunner over Aryna Sabalenka, knocking out the top seed, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Sabalenka clinched the WTA Year-End No. 1 ranking after winning her round robin group earlier in the week but was flat in her next two matches against Elena Rybakina and Gauff, who secured victory after 109 minutes on Center Court.

Gauff will next face No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen in what will be a maiden WTA Finals final for both women.

The former US Open champion endured a topsy-turvy season that followed her breakout 2023 season, one that culminated with her first Grand Slam title. After exiting this year’s US Open in the fourth round, the 20-year-old made a major changes to her team, parting with coach Brad Gilbert. She subsequently announced the hiring of Matt Daly with improvements to her serve among the new partnership’s biggest goals.

The work paid off almost immediately as Gauff roared to the WTA 1000 title at the China Open, and played Sabalenka tough over three set at the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open. Though serving woes plagued her in that semifinal, Gauff has kept her double fault count to a relative minimum, which has allowed her to channel her always-formidable athleticism into substantial wins in Riyadh.

After opening with a straightforward victory over fellow American Jessica Pegula, Gauff earned her biggest win of the year when she blitzed Iga Swiatek in two sets. Shaking off a final round-robin defeat against Barbora Krejcikova, the American picked up where she left off against Sabalenka, who continued to look out of sorts since winning her first two matches at the WTA Finals.

A finalist at the Finals in 2022, Sabalenka has been the best player on tour since late summer, when she strung together back-to-back titles at the Cinncinnati Open and US Open. She remained undefeated in Wuhan, winning her third title at the WTA 1000 tournament over home favorite Zheng Qinwen, who she beat again to open her WTA Finals campaign.

Another clean win over Jasmine Paolini assured her of the No. 1 ranking but errors plagued her against Gauff, who broke the three-time Grand Slam champion to force a tiebreaker. Racing ahead a quick 6-1 lead, she ultimately took the set on her third opportunity and opened up a double-break advantage early in the third.

Sabalenka made an admirable push as Gauff looked to consolidate but frustration hindered her focus. Though she converted an eighth break point opportunity to win a wild sixth game, she promptly lost serve to love, handing Gauff the chance to serve out the match.

The pair exchanged two more breaks with the finish line in sight, but that was enough for Gauff to secure victory. Gauff will face Zheng for the second time this year, having won their first meeting on clay at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.