World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka overpowered Coco Gauff to secure semifinal spot.
Riyadh
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominant run at the WTA Finals, defeating defending champion Coco Gauff 7-6 (5), 6-2 to top her group and reach the semifinals. The win also eliminated Gauff from the tournament.
With three straight group-stage victories, Sabalenka joined Jessica Pegula in the last four. Pegula earlier beat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 to finish second in the group with a 2-1 record. Gauff ended 1-2, while Paolini went winless in her debut appearance at the season-ending event featuring the world’s top eight players.
Sabalenka will face Amanda Anisimova in Friday’s semifinal — a rematch of this year’s U.S. Open final — while Pegula meets Elena Rybakina.
Gauff started strongly, breaking Sabalenka twice in the first set and even serving for it at 5-4. But Sabalenka fought back with her trademark power, chasing down a drop shot and blasting a forehand winner to level the score. “I was already preparing for the second set,” Sabalenka admitted. “Something clicked, and breaking back gave me confidence that I still had it.”
In the tiebreaker, Gauff led 4-2 before faltering with a backhand error and a double fault, allowing Sabalenka to seize momentum. The Belarusian then broke early in the second set and dominated from there.
“I had a lot of chances in the first set,” Gauff said. “It was disappointing not to take it. She raised her level and I couldn’t keep up.”
The victory extended Sabalenka’s unbeaten streak in the tournament and set up another high-voltage encounter against Anisimova, as the Belarusian eyes her second WTA Finals title and a strong finish to a stellar season.