Jessica Pegula came from a set down to end Aryna Sabalenka’s perfect reign at the WTA 1000 Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open with a dramatic 2-6 6-4 7-6(2) victory in the semi-finals on Saturday, and will face Coco Gauff for the title on Sunday.
I felt like every time I played her, I found out a little bit more. Just because I find out doesn’t mean I’m going to win every time, but I think it puts me in a good position. And if you can put yourself in a decent position and hopefully play well that day and execute most of it, that’s really all you can ask for, especially against the best player in the world right now. Jessica Pegula
Fighting off her 8th consecutive 3-setter, Pegula clawed back from 2-5 down in the decider to shock the world No. 1, setting up a final against her compatriot Gauff, who got past Jasmine Paolini 6-4 6-3.
“That was crazy, I can’t believe I came back and won that,” said Pegula, who has won seven of the eight consecutive three-set matches she has played in the past 17 days. “I’m just very proud of myself.
“I’ve played so much tennis in the last few weeks, so many three-set matches, but I feel like I’m very strong at the moment and I’m using that as best I can.”
The No. 6 seed is through to her sixth final of the season after dethroning the defending Wuhan champions, who entered the tournament with a perfect 20-0 record.
“Wuhan will always be a special place for me,” Sabalenka said after the loss. “Not only because of my winning streak and titles, but also because of the support of the fans. They always make me feel special no matter what happens on the pitch. I can’t wait to come back next year because I always feel so welcome in Wuhan.”
Both semi-finals of the day were played in significantly cooler temperatures compared to the rest of the week and featured no less than a large number of service breaks due to the slower conditions.
There were 5 service breaks in the first 6 games of the match, before Sabalenka managed to consolidate her lead and create a 5-2 lead.
Pegula, 31, threw her racket in frustration as Sabalenka fired a return winner to reach set point in the next game, and the Belarusian took the opening set as the match clock showed 40 minutes.
Despite her troubles on serve, Pegula played excellently from the ground, which helped her correct course in the second, and although the American squandered a 2-0 lead early on, she recovered to wrestle the set out of Sabalenka’s hands and force a decider.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faltered in the final set against Jessica Pegula to see her 20-0 winning streak in Wuhan abruptly end
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The final set was another see-saw game, but it seemed all but over when Sabalenka served for the win at 5-3, and that’s when Pegula, who had other ideas, flipped the script.
The frustration in Sabalenka increased and she boiled over when she lost an important point at 5-5 and dropped her serve, prompting her to hurl her racket angrily at her bench, which rebounded and spun back towards the court.
She immediately extended an apologetic arm, but if it had hit a nearby ball boy or cameraman, the Belarusian would have been automatically disqualified. Instead, she received a warning from the referee.
However, serving for the win at 6–5, Pegula double-faulted four times in the match and let two match points slip, giving Sabalenka a lifeline, which she seized to force a decisive tiebreak.
Pegula raised her level in the breaker just when she needed it most, claiming her third victory from eleven meetings with Sabalenka.
The American will bid against Gauff for her fourth career WTA 1000 title and first of the season, as well as a fourth singles title at any level this year.
Her victory against Sabalenka represents a personal milestone for Pegula, as she had previously been winless in her career against Top 10 opponents after losing the first set, with a record of 0–29 in matches, 27 of which were all lost in straight sets.
On this occasion, Pegula, from 2–5 down in the final set, won 4 consecutive games and saved 2 match points to win a 5th in a row, ending the match at 6–5, but in the 5-deuce 12th game Sabalenka saved them both, eventually sending the match to a final set tiebreak.
In that service game, Pegula served her four double faults, which was her entire total for the match, one on the first match point and another on the final break point.
Pegula broke Sabalenka’s serve seven times in the match, including three in the final set, the second most in a tour match for the world number one this season, after Gauff broke her nine times in the Roland Garros final.
Even after 2 hours and 19 minutes, the American’s remarkable success in the last sets of this season remained intact.
“Every time I played her, I felt like I figured it out a little bit more,” Pegula said. “The fact that I find out doesn’t mean I’m going to win every time, but I think it puts me in a good position.
“And if you can put yourself in a decent position, and then hopefully play well that day and execute most of it, that’s really all you can ask for, especially against the best player in the world right now.”
As for Sabalenka, she later took to Instagram to give her verdict on her run in Wuhan, with the 27-year-old telling her followers: “That sums up @wuhanopenwta. Not the ending I wanted, but grateful for the time spent here. Thank you to the fans for the support and making this stadium feel like home.”
World number 3 Coco Gauff defeated Jasmine Paolini for the first time in four meetings this year to reach the final of the Wuhan Open, where she will play Jessica Pegula on Sunday
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Earlier in the day, Coco Gauff survived a battle of wills and some serving swings against Jasmine Paolini in their semi-final.
The two-time Grand Slam champion had lost all three meetings against Paolini in 2025, but turned things around with an instant on Saturday.
“It was 3-0 this year, but I think we’re even now,” Gauff said of her record against the Italian. “I’m very happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially playing on serve, but I did what I had to do to get through it.”
The French Open champion put in a stuttering performance but secured victory to reach the final of the Wuhan Open in a semi-final marked by strong return games from both players, with Gauff ultimately edging Paolini by the narrowest of margins.
The American third seed took the opening set after both held serve in the first five games before trading five consecutive breaks.
The second followed a similar pattern as Paolini broke for a 3-2 lead, but Gauff hit straight back in the eleventh straight match without a service hold.
A run of eleven consecutive service breaks carried the momentum like a pendulum, but it was Gauff who ultimately held serve in game 7 en route to the 82-minute victory.
The No. 3 seed had to recover from a break in the set three times and won the last four games of the match to beat Paolini and record her first win over the Italian this year.
In reaching her first final since her victory at Roland Garros in June, Gauff may have won in straight sets, but she struggled on serve, was broken five times and had seven double faults.
“I’m really happy with how I played today,” Gauff said. “It was tough, especially when I played on serve, but I did what I had to do to get through it.”
Jasmine Paolini’s loss to Coco Gauff on Saturday means she needs a good run in Ningbo next week to qualify for the final spot at the WTA Finals
©Wang He/Getty Images
A win in Wuhan would have guaranteed Paolini a place in the upcoming WTA Finals in Riyadh, but the Italian, currently ranked 8th in the Race, will now have to secure her qualification at the WTA 500 Aux Ningbo Open in China next week, where she is ranked No. 2.
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old American had advanced to the fifth WTA 1000 final of her career and waited for the result of the second semi-final between Sabalenka and Pegula later in the day.
“Sabalenka and Pegula are great players, and I have lost to them before,” she said. “But overall I’m going to focus on my side of the pitch and try to control the things I can control.
“I’ve played a few finals this year, so I have a lot of experience. But whatever happens tomorrow, I’m very happy with the effort I put into this tournament,” Gauff added.
Later, when Gauff learned she would play Pegula in the final, she said: “I’ve played her many times, back and forth that is against each other, and I can’t remember the last time Jess and I played. I think Jess is so dangerous, especially on hard courts.”
Gauff is playing her third WTA 1000 final of the year and is most closely associated with Sabalenka on tour.
She has lost just 16 matches heading into the Wuhan championship match, the fewest in the tournament’s history, while also having the highest winning percentage in China on tour, with an excellent 21-3 record in China.
‘I don’t think so [Coco and I] ever played in a final,” said Pegula, who is bidding to become the oldest WTA 1000 champion since Petra Kvitova won Miami in 2023. “We haven’t played since Riyadh, and that didn’t go well for me. She crushed me, but she obviously played at a pretty high level that week.
“We haven’t played each other in a while, but we’ve had a few practices here and there when we’re home because we live in the same area. It’ll be interesting to see how we both play.”
Pegula is ten years older and may have just completed her eighth straight 3-setter, but she has a 4-2 head-to-head advantage over her friend and former doubles partner, Gauff.
It is also the first time that they meet in a final.
“It will be great to play Coco in a final here,” Pegula added. “We know each other so well. There are no secrets – we know what we’re going to try and do, and what our plans are. It’s about who can execute it best.”
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