Gauff topples erratic Sabalenka to reach WTA Finals showpiece
The American beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 to reach her maiden final at the season-ending WTA Finals where she will meet Zheng Qinwen for the title
Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
Coco Gauff reached her first final at the tour-ending WTA Finals by knocking out an under-par and misfiring Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a dramatic semi-final in Riyadh.
The American nudges 5-4 ahead in the pair’s head-to-head after a meeting that Sabalenka will likely want to forget.
It was a strange topsy-turvy contest, across which neither player quite hit their usual excellence. Sabalenka especially looked uncharacteristically tentative for large swathes of the encounter, struggling with her balance off her forehand wing and spraying all too frequent errors when in promising positions.
Yet the opening set was still a closely fought affair.
The pair exchanged early breaks in the third and fourth games of the match before service dominance took centre stage. From there, both players held well until 5-5, when Sabalenka earned what looked to be a decisive break in the eleventh game. But Gauff struck right back in the twelfth as the Belarusian had served for the set, before clinching a tense tiebreak on her fourth set point.
Sabalenka’s form collapsed rapidly at the tail end of that first stanza, having been two points away from the set at 30-30 when serving at 6-5. Unforced errors, particularly on the forehand side, began leaking freely from the Belarusian’s racquet as Gauff took charge of the contest.
Despite a spell away from the court, followed by several ferocious roars in an attempt to fire herself up, Sabalenka’s form deteriorated further with the arrival of the second set. She conceded serve in the third game before being broken again to love in the fifth as Gauff looked to be sprinting to the finish line.
The world No 1’s troubles were compounded by a routine volley knifed into the net when she had Gauff at her mercy on break point in an extraordinary sixth game that epitomised both Sabalenka’s woes and her supreme tenacity. After squandering seven break points with wildly off-target errors when some points had been on her racquet, the Belarusian finally made the breakthrough on her eighth break point following a twelve-minute game.
But Sabalenka’s erratic form showed no sign of letting up, as she conceded another break to love in the very next game to hand all the initiative back to the American.
Gauff failed to serve out the match at 5-2 up, but broke for a sixth time to clinch victory in what was a fittingly chaotic end to an unpredictable contest.
“I’m happy with how I played. I know going against Aryna it’s always going to be tough,” Gauff said in an on-court interview following the win.
“I just tried to stay in it. She’s the world No 1 for a reason. I’m just happy with how I played today.”
When asked about facing Zheng Qinwen in the final, Gauff said, “She’s playing great tennis. Just playing confident tennis will help give me the best shot at winning. I’m not really nervous to be honest. I always consider the year end Finals just a plus. Being here is a reward for the season that I had.”
sabalenka’s superb season ends in defeat, while gauff finishes mixed year on a high
Sabalenka’s stellar 2024 ends somewhat anti-climactically with back-to-back defeats in Riyadh as her search for a first WTA Finals title goes on.
But once she puts the immediate disappointment of this loss behind her, the Belarusian will no doubt look back on a superb season in which she has rightfully established herself as the new leader of the pack on the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka closes her season with two Grand Slam titles to her name and the year-end No 1 ranking position. She won 22 of her final 25 matches in 2024 – two of those three defeats coming in this tournament alone.
Sabalenka is the best player in the world, without a doubt, and there will be much more to come from her in the future.
But it is Gauff who progresses, and deservedly so.
The 2023 US Open champion will take on Chinese No 1 Zheng Qinwen in tomorrow’s final in what is a fascinating prospect.
Zheng has been one of the form players of the second half of the season and has thrived in front of generous crowd support for her in Riyadh at this year’s Finals. Gauff, meanwhile, has had a mixed season, but is ending it in fine fashion having taken the title in Beijing and now reaching her maiden tour-ending final.
At 20 and 22 years of age respectively, it will be a first final at this tournament for Gauff and Zheng as youth takes centre stage in a battle of the young superstars.
A more than fitting end to what has been another compelling WTA season.
