Coco Gauff struggled more with her serve, but overcame seven double faults to defeat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday and advance to the Wuhan Open final.
Gauff will face Jessica Pegula in Sunday’s title match, where the fellow American came from behind to defeat top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Both players in the top 10 struggled with their service games, but Gauff, ranked third, won the conversion break battle 7-5 to defeat Paolini.
Gauff battled back from three breaks in the second set, including five consecutive double faults, and won the final four games to advance to the final.
“I did what I had to do to get through it,” Gauff said.
Gauff, 21, who changed serving coaches in August, leads the women’s circuit this season with 378 double faults, more than 120 more than the next player.
But she also excelled in other ways. According to Circuit, his 13 career wins against top 10 players in WTA 1000 events are the most by a player up to the age of 22 since 2009.
Paolini, ranked No. 5, defeated Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals and had won each of her previous three matches against Gauff this season.
Pegula’s victory was her third in the U.S. WTA 1000 final since it began in 2009, but her last appearance came in 2024, when she defeated Amanda Anisimova in three sets in Toronto.
Sabalenka is a three-time defending champion and boasts a 20-game winning streak.
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
