Pegula shocks Sabalenka; faces Gauff in Wuhan final

Jessica Pegula snapped the 20-match winning Wuhan run of Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Saturday to deny the world No. 1 a possible chance at a fourth consecutive title at the Chinese event 

Pegula, called “Big Rich” by Chinese fans due to her family’s billionaire status, will aim on Sunday for her fourth career trophy at the 1000 level.

The winner of three events so far in 2025 will face off against American compatriot Coco Gauff, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

Pegula managed to reverse a personal jinx after having stood 0-29 when losing the opening set against top 10 opposition.

The American put paid to that bad luck as she swept four games from 5-2 down in the deciding set but needed to win in a tiebreaker after stiff resistance from  Sabalenka.

Third seed Gauff will be hoping that her career-long domination in China holds up as she comes into the final with the most wins on the WTA in the country over the past three seasons – 21 in total.

Gauff will be competing in her third straight final at the elite 1000 level while hoping to win her first after defeats in Madrid (Paolini) and Rome (Sabalenka).

“I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said in Wuhan. “I’ve played finals this year so I have a lot of experience.

“Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I’m really happy with the effort that I put in for this tournament.”

Gauff snuck through to victory over her Italian opponent despite seven double faults, including five in a row in the second set; she also lost serve five times as that part of her game continues to plague her.

The result marked her first defeat of Paolini after three losses to the double Grand Slam finalist already this season,