Coco Gauff snaps three-match skid to Jasmine Paolini in booking first Wuhan final

Coco Gauff finally got her revenge on Jasmine Paolini on Saturday and in the process, punched a ticket to the Wuhan Open final.

The American had dropped all three of her 2025 encounters to the two-time major finalist, including a pair at the WTA 1000 level: the Rome final and Cincinnati quarterfinals. But on Saturday, Gauff flipped the script with a 6-4, 6-3 victory to level their overall head-to-head series.

“I’m really happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially on the serve. But I did what I needed to do to get through,” she said during her on-court interview.

The contest began with five straight holds, before turning into a breaker’s delight. The next 11 games went to the returner, though nevertheless saw Gauff emerge as the player to successfully put aside problems at the service line.

The No. 3 seed recovered from being broken at love by Paolini in the ninth game when serving for the set. With a deep forehand return down the middle, Gauff engineered a set point—and capitalized after her opponent’s errant backhand landed well wide.

The back half stretch of breaks no doubt sealed Paolini’s fate, with three opportunities to consolidate going to waste that including missed game points at 1-0 and 2-1.

Gauff reeled off the final four games of the contest, finishing in electric style with a backhand volley winner after coming forward on a backhand drop shot.

The 21-year-old is bidding to lift her second trophy of the season, following her second major triumph at Roland Garros. In addition to the aforementioned Rome showing, Gauff also finished runner-up at the Mutua Madrid Open to Aryna Sabalenka. She is seeking her third crown at the 1000 level and second in China after winning Beijing last year.

Gauff awaits the winner of Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula, with the world No. 1 owning a 20-0 record at this tour stop.