Coco Gauff beats Jasmine Paolini to keep her hopes of qualifying for the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh

Defending champion Coco Gauff beat this year’s Rome WTA 1000 Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-2 to keep her hopes of qualifying for the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Ryiadh. Gauff made just three unforced errors and won 35 of her 50 service points. She won 15 of her 19 second service points. Gauff broke Paolini’s first service game to take a 2-0 lead and saved three break points to hold serve in the third game for 3-0. Paolini fended off three break points to hold serve after five deuces in the fourth game and broke back at 15 in the seventh game. The Olympic doubles champion had three chances to draw level to 4-4, but Gauff won five consecutive points to break serve in the eighth game for 5-3.

Both players went on serve until the fifth game when Gauff earned her third break of the match to take a 3-2 lead. The US player went up a double break in the seventh game and sealed the second set 6-2 on her first match point in the eighth game. On Thursday Gauff will face Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Jessica Pegula in the second match of the day.
Gauff won her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last June and qualified for the WTA Finals for the fourth time in her career. Paolini is now eliminated. The Italian player was struggling with illness and was unable to play her best tennis.

Coco Gauff: “I’m really happy with how I played, definitely a turnaround from my first match. It’s the beauty of this tournament, you have another chance to prove yourself. Hopefully I can do well in my next one to give myself a chance to stay in this tournament.”Paolini won three of her four head-to-head matches against Gauff earlier this year. She has a record of 1 win and 4 defeats in singles matches in her two appearances at the WTA Finals in 2024 and 2025.