WUHAN: World number six Jessica Pegula fought back from 2-5 down in the deciding set to upset top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) on Saturday and set up a Wuhan Open final against fellow American Coco Gauff.

Pegula broke Sabalenka in the third set with the Belarusian serving for the match and again to move 6-5 ahead. The American squandered two match points in the next game as Sabalenka levelled, but Pegula dominated the tiebreak to seal victory after two hours and 20 minutes.

“For what I did In the tiebreak, I’m just really proud of myself. I’ve played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches, but I feel like I’m very tough right now and I’m just using that [feeling] as best as I can,” Pegula said.

“Playing Coco in a final here would be awesome. We know each other so well — there are no secrets. We know what our game plans are, and it’s just going to come down to who can execute it the best.”

French Open champion Gauff defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 earlier to reach her third WTA 1000 final of the year.

The American third seed took the opening set after both players held serve in the first five games before trading five straight breaks.

The second set followed a similar pattern as Paolini broke for a 3-2 lead, but Gauff hit straight back in the 11th consecutive game without a service hold.

Gauff held for the first time in the set to move 4-3 ahead, broke again and served out the match to set up a clash with world number one Aryna Sabalenka or American Jessica Pegula on Sunday.

“I’m really happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially playing on the serve. But I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.

“Sabalenka and Pegula are great players… And I’ve lost to them both before. But overall, I’m just going to focus on my side of the court and try to control the things I can control.”

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025