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American tennis player Jessica Pegula staged a remarkable comeback to end Aryna Sabalenka’s unbeaten run at the Wuhan Open, clinching a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) victory in Saturday’s semi-final.
The American will now face Coco Gauff in an all-US final.
Pegula, contesting her eighth consecutive three-set match, fought back from 2-5 down in the decider to stun the world number one and reach her sixth final of the season.
“That was crazy — I can’t believe I came back and won that,” Pegula said after the match. “I’ve played so much tennis these past weeks, so many three-setters, but I feel very tough right now and I’m using that as best I can.”
Sabalenka, who entered the tournament with a perfect 20-0 record in Wuhan, appeared in control early on, taking the first set in 40 minutes after five breaks of serve in the opening six games.
However, Pegula’s resilience and sharp baseline play saw her fight back to claim the second set, before prevailing in a tense final set tiebreak to seal just her third win in 11 meetings with Sabalenka.
Gauff Ousts Paolini to Reach Fifth WTA 1000 Final
In the earlier semi-final, Coco Gauff battled past Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 to book her place in the final.
The 21-year-old, who had lost all three of her previous encounters with Paolini in 2025, held her nerve in a match dominated by service breaks.
“It was 3-0 this year, but I think our head-to-head is even now,” Gauff said. “It was tough, especially on serve, but I did what I needed to do to get through.”
A run of 11 consecutive service breaks kept the contest finely balanced until Gauff finally held serve in the second set’s seventh game, paving the way for victory.
The win marks Gauff’s third WTA 1000 final of 2025 and sets up a thrilling showdown against compatriot Pegula for the Wuhan title.
