Sabalenka ousts Gauff to reach semis

Sabalenka ousts Gauff to reach semifinals

RIYADH — Top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated defending champion Coco Gauff of the United States 7-6(5), 6-2 on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. This victory secured Sabalenka a clean sweep in the Steffi Graf group and a spot in the semifinals of the 2025 WTA Finals.

Before this match, Gauff had a narrow 6-5 lead in their head-to-head record and had beaten Sabalenka in the French Open final earlier this year. However, Sabalenka turned the tables with a strong finish to the first set and a dominant performance in the second.

Match Highlights

The first set was closely contested, with points swinging between the two players. Gauff broke serve in the opening game, but Sabalenka responded by breaking back in the fourth game. Gauff then regained the lead, but Sabalenka broke serve again at 4-5 to force a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Sabalenka won four straight points from 2-4 and converted her second set point.

In the second set, Gauff’s play faltered as her unforced errors increased, while Sabalenka surged ahead to a 4-0 lead and eventually closed out the set 6-2. This marked Sabalenka's third consecutive group win, leveling their head-to-head record at 6-6.

“I was already working for the second set, to be honest. Something clicked, and I was able to break, and that game gave me a lot of confidence that I still got it in this set. And yeah, super happy to get this winning straight sets,” Sabalenka reflected on the first set.

With this win, Sabalenka advances confidently to the semifinals of the WTA Finals.

Author's summary: Aryna Sabalenka secured a strong semifinal berth at the 2025 WTA Finals by defeating defending champion Coco Gauff in straight sets with a precise and confident performance.

more

SunStar SunStar — 2025-11-07

More News