French Open champion Coco Gauff advanced to the Wuhan Open final with a hard-fought victory over Italy's Jasmine Paolini on Saturday, October 11.
The 21-year-old defeated the seventh-seeded Italian with a score of 6-4, 6-3.
With this victory, Gauff reached her first final since winning Roland Garros in June.
Gauff struggled with her serve, being broken five times and hitting seven double faults.
Despite all ups and downs, Gauff stayed composed and won the key points in critical games and eventually won the game.
After winning the match, Gauff said, "I'm really happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially playing on the serve, but I did what I needed to do to get through," as per BBC Sports.
Reaching the Wuhan Open final is Gauff’s fifth career WTA 1000 final and her third of 2025.
Gauff will now face world number one Aryna Sabalenka or Jessica Pegula in the final.
Speaking about the opponents she could face, Gauff said, "Sabalenka and Pegula are great players, and I've lost to them both before. But overall, I'm just going to focus on my side of the court and try to control the things I can control."
On the other hand, winning the Wuhan Open won’t impact the WTA Finals qualification because all potential winners have already qualified except Paolini, who lost and now must earn her place at either the Ningbo or Tokyo tournaments.
