Coco Gauff stuns world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach WTA finals championship match

Coco Gauff is on her way to the WTA Finals championship match.

The world No. 3 used her speed and defense to defeat No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the semifinals on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Gauff, who reached the semifinals the last two years, will face No. 7 Qinwen Zheng, who beat Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 7-5. Gauff is 20, Zheng 22.

The winner takes home $2.5 million and the runner-up takes home $1.27 million.

“I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” Gauff said on the Tennis Channel. “I know it’s always going to be a tough fight against Aryna, so I just tried to stick with it. She’s number 1 in the world for a reason and I’m just happy with my performance today.”

Gauff improved to 5-4 against Sabalenka, ending a two-game losing streak that included the Wuhan semifinals and the Australian Open semifinals. Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open and US Open titles, ends the year ranked No. 1.

Gauff took the first set with her fourth set point after Sabalenka served for it. With the score at 4:6 at the break, Sabalenka hit a forehand shot wide of the goal and gave Gauff the set.

The American then broke out at the start of the second set, took a 2-1 lead and then managed a double break to make it 4-1. Sabalenka earned a break to make it 2:4.

But Gauff responded with a break to make it 5:2 and then served for the match. It was broken and Sabalenka was serving at 3:5.

Gauff won when Sabalenka drilled a backhand into the net on match point.

“A break in tennis means nothing,” said Gauff. “People think about it too much, so I just had to win one game to stay in the set. And yes, I was lucky to have a bust in that game.”

Gauff sparked some controversy among fans when she lost to Krejcikova in her final group stage match after defeating world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and fellow American Jessica Pegula.

The loss eliminated Swiatek and some fans felt that Gauff lost on purpose.

“Coco did it on purpose. “Her joy at the end of the game…she’s so pathetic,” one fan tweeted.

“Coco Gauff will lose just so she doesn’t have to compete against iga again. What a loser,” one fan wrote on X.

Gauff is in the final for now and can win the second biggest title of her career after winning the US Open in 2023.

“[Zheng] plays great tennis,” said Gauff. “Just playing confident tennis will help me and give me the best chance of winning.

“To be honest, I’m not really nervous. At the end of the year I always think of it as a plus, and even being here I see it as a reward for the season I had.”