Coco Gauff sinks Aryna Sabalenka, setting up WTA final showdown with Zheng | Coco Gauff

When Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka stared each other down in Wuhan a month ago, Gauff was clearly in the lead as she methodically built a set and break lead. But then out of nowhere her serve collapsed spectacularly. Although she fought brilliantly until the end, she was torpedoed by an astonishing 21 double faults.

Since Gauff has been on the tour for half a decade, it’s sometimes easy to forget that at 20 years old, Gauff is still growing and a work in progress. Over the course of this week, Gauff has shown the results of some of those improvements as she arrived in Riyadh with significant adjustments to her game and used them to play some of the best tennis of her career. On Friday, Gauff put in a brilliant performance against world number 1 Sabalenka, reaching the final of the WTA Finals with a spectacular 7-6 (4), 6-3 win.

In the final, Gauff will face Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen in a duel between the two youngest players in the top 10. Zheng extended her great breakthrough season by reaching the final round of the WTA Finals for the first time in her career, staging a spirited comeback Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova before claiming a tough 6-3, 7-5 victory. After her performances in Riyadh, the 22-year-old will reach a new career ranking of at least fifth place.

During Gauff’s short career, no aspect of her game has been more scrutinized than her forehand, which she hits with an extreme Western grip and has often been vulnerable against the best players in the world. This week, however, Gauff’s weaker groundstroke was extremely solid. After parting ways with her former coach Brad Gilbert after the US Open and hiring Matt Daly in his place, Gauff has also changed her approach to her serve.

These improvements were evident in her rematch against the best player in the world, Sabalenka. In a rocky opening set, Gauff served well, and she absorbed Sabalenka’s tremendous pace superbly with her forehand, maintaining consistent depth throughout. Meanwhile, her remarkable defense made the space seem so tight for Sabalenka. Although Sabalenka served for the set, Gauff got the break, played an extremely clean tiebreak and then refused to give up her momentum. This time she only made two double faults.

In recent months, Sabalenka has been playing the best tennis of her career. She won her third Grand Slam title at the US Open as well as the WTA 1000 events in Cincinnati and Wuhan, winning 21 of 22 matches. For once, however, she appeared tired and tense as she couldn’t keep up with Gauff’s intensity. 2024 was the best season of her career, but Sabalenka ended the year with a bitter defeat.

Meanwhile, Zheng’s run to the final in Riyadh is the result of remarkably consistent form since this summer. Although she reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open this year. Zheng’s real breakthrough came when she won a historic Olympic singles gold medal in Paris, pulling off an incredible upset win over Swiatek, and her momentum has only continued to grow since then. After compiling a 31-5 record since mid-July, Zheng will look to cap off a spectacular season with another major title.