In the high-stakes, high-tension semifinal clash at the Wuhan Open, Coco Gauff experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and performance. The young American sensation, known for her explosive speed and tenacity, faced off against the formidable Aryna Sabalenka. However, it was a match that would be remembered for an unusual and alarming statistic: Gauff’s 21 double faults, the least one on match point.  Eventually Sabalenka won 1-6 6-4 6-4.

The 21 double faults were both a symptom and a cause of Gauff’s struggles on the court. Each missed first serve led to another moment of self-doubt, and the second serves became tentative. Sabalenka, with her aggressive style, capitalized on Gauff’s serving woes, often stepping into the court to attack the second serves with ferocity.

Sabalenka commented:

“Coco is an incredible player. We’ve had a lot of tough battles in the past. She’s in great shape and I knew going into this match that it would be tough and that I would have to work really hard to get the win.

“A couple of mistakes from her and and I felt I probably still have chances.”

Coco Gauff practicing serves during Aryna’s bathroom break…that’s next level commitment (image) #WuhanOpen pic.twitter.com/7yu2JFsTNv

— Liviefromparis (image) (image) (image) (@Livieparis2024) October 12, 2024

Sabalenka in Wuhan, ranking, and results in 2024

Ranked world no.2, Aryna has a compiled 53-12 win-loss record in 2024. Sabalenka is playing in Wuhan where she beat Unknown Player bye, the world no.37 Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-4, the world no.35 Yulia Putintseva 1-6 6-4 6-0, the world no.27 Magdalena Frech 6-2 6-2 and the world no.4 Cori Gauff 1-6 6-4 6-4.

Sabalenka conquered 3 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Cincinnati and U.S. Open. Aryna was the finalist in Brisbane (Brisbane International), in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) and in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia).

The Belarussian won 16 titles in her career: 12 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)

Cori Gauff in 2024

At the moment ranked no.4, Gauff played her last match on the 12th of October when she lost to world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka 1-6 6-4 6-4 in the semifinal in Wuhan (draw).

This year the American has managed to achieve a compiled 50-16 win-loss record. The American clinched 2 titles in 2024 in Auckland and Beijing.

Aryna Sabalenka and Cori Gauff faced off 8 times. Their head to head is 4-4.