Coco Gauff got off to a winning start on Sunday at the WTA Finals, ending a three-match loss streak to American compatriot Jessica Pegula with a 6-3, 6-2 group win.

World No. 3 Gauff broke five times in eight Pegula service games on her way to the win in Riyadh.

Pegula, US Open runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka, had won four of five previous matches against her compatriot and came to the season-ender with a Toronto title and finals in Cincinnati and New York.

Gauff won the China Open last month in Beijing and played the Wuhan final. The 20-year-old finished her match in Riyadh with 16 winners.

“I thought we both were playing a high level,” Gauff said. “I just think I was able to break through on the more important points.”

Gauff now plays world No. 2 Swiatek for a 13th time, owning just one win against the Pole. 

Emma Raducanu has handed WTA tournament organisers another in a long series of disappointments, with the fading former Grand Slam champion withdrawing on Tuesday from the Hong Kong Open.

The pullout from next week’s event in the SAR marks the fifth no-show for the British No. 55 this autumn.

Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open and has since fallen flat with injuries and seemingly endless coaching changes, looks to have all but ended her season.

She is joined on the sidelines in Hong Kong by fellow injury victim and former Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

Raducanu has not played in well over a month, quitting mid-match with a September foot injury in South Korea and still troubled by various physical problems

She has pulled out of Chinese events in Beijing, Wuhan, Ningbo and  Guangzhou.

Raducanu is replaced in the HKG draw by American Sofia Kenin.

Carlos Alcaraz ran into trouble on Thursday in the form of Tomas Machac as the Czech put an end to Carlos Alcaraz’s 12-match winning streak in emphatic fashion on Thursday to reach the last four at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Machac, who turns 24 on Sunday’s finals day in China, earned a 7-6 (5), 7- upset in just under two hours; he claimed a second top five opponent after ousting Novak Djokovic in Geneva five months ago on clay.

Alcaraz was bidding for a second straight Chinese trophy after winning Beijing with a defeat of Jannik Sinner.

“I’m playing the best right now, for sure,” the winner said. “With these types of players, I have to play this level otherwise you go home, there is no other option.”

The Czech added: “I knew that I had a chance but you never know, even with a set and 5-4 it’s still so far from winning the match.”

Machac’s win was revenge for a loss he took to Alcaraz last month in Davis Cup play in Valencia when he had to retire.

“I played great tennis against him in the Davis Cup, but there was this level (for) only one set. Today it was two, so it was enough.”

Machac advanced into a semi-final with Sinner thanks to 20 winners 

After becoming the fourth lowest-ranked semi-finalist in Shanghai tournament history, Machac will bid to level his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Sinner after falling to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami.

“I am looking forward to it,” Machac said of his upcoming clash with Sinner. “I am really enjoying it and am happy that I can play against the best [players].”