Gauff overcomes double faults to beat Paolini, Pegula edges Sabalenka in Wuhan semifinals

WUHAN, China (AP) — Coco Gauff overcame seven double faults to beat Jasmine Paolini and will meet compatriot Jessica Pegula in the Wuhan Open final after the 31-year-old American ended top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka’s winning streak at the tournament.

Gauff saw off Paolini 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday after winning the battle of converted breaks seven-to-five as both top-10 players struggled with their serves.

The third-ranked Gauff fought back from three breaks in the second set, which included her run of five consecutive double faults, and won the final four games to advance to the final.

“I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.

The 21-year-old Gauff, 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 are the most by any player before turning 22 since 2009, the circuit said.

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.

Sabalenka’s reign in Wuhan ends

Pegula won a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) nail-biter to set up the all-American final and end Sabalenka’s 20-match Wuhan winning streak.

The sixth-ranked Pegula was down 2-5 in the final set before winning four straight games. Sabalenka then saved two match points to force the tiebreaker.

Sabalenka won the Wuhan Open in 2018 and 2019 and then again in 2024 after the event returned to the circuit.

Pegula holds a 4-2 advantage over Gauff in head-to-head matchups.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis