Follow us on Google Discover Coco Gauff saw her WTA Finals title defence come to an end after she was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff lost her first match to Jessica Pegula, hitting a total of 17 double faults against her compatriot.
The American knew that she would have to bounce straight back, and she did just that as Gauff beat Jasmine Paolini to keep her hopes alive.
However, after Pegula beat Paolini it confirmed that Gauff would likely have to beat world number one Sabalenka in straight sets to keep her WTA Finals defence alive.
Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty ImagesTim Henman pinpoints a big difference between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka
There is constantly a lot of focus on Gauff’s serving issues, and they were once again a big talking point after Sabalenka beat the Roland Garros champion, 7-6(5) 6-2, to knock her out of the WTA Finals.
Gauff recently hired Sabalenka’s former serving coach, but former world number four Tim Henman has suggested he believes the serve is still a big differential between the two players.
When reflecting on the match for Sky Sports, former British number one Laura Robson and Henman were full of praise for Sabalenka, while also pointing out the biggest difference between the world number one and Gauff right now.
“I just love that she loves the competition,” Robson said about Sabalenka. “I think we mention this a lot when we watch her in matches like that, that it gets tight and the scoreline gets a little dicey at times and you see her literally lock in, in the moment and step up to the line and be tense and nervous and frustrated in between points, but once the point starts she just switches it on.
“It’s something inside her that so few people have that she has the ability to play her best tennis in the toughest situation.”
Henman added “The reality is that she has been in these toughest situations in the biggest tournaments and she has come out on top a lot. I think that winning breeds more confidence and she doesn’t second guess herself.
“The fact that she had issues with her second serve and she was the one who came up with solutions, I think now when it does get tight she does have the clarity of thought, whereas others can be questioned. That’s the problem with Gauff. She is having to concentrate so hard on her serve that it does reflect into other parts of her game.”
Although Gauff did not hit anywhere near the 17 double faults from her first match, she was bettered by Sabalenka in every serving statistic.
2025 WTA FinalsAryna Sabalenka’s Serve vs GauffCoco Gauff’s Serve vs SabalenkaAces32Double Faults16First Serve %78%68%First Serve Win %68%58%Second Serve Win %47%39%Games Broken 35Will Coco Gauff still be American number one after the WTA Finals?
Gauff was the American number one coming into this year’s WTA Finals, but after failing to defend her title she is now vulnerable from losing that position.
Although she remains in the tournament, Pegula cannot end the year as the American number one if she wins the title, but another American player can.
It has been a huge breakthrough year for Anisimova, who has reached the final of Wimbledon and the US Open this year, as well as achieving a career-high ranking of world number four.
After Anisimova beat Iga Swiatek to reach the WTA Finals semifinals, she now has the opportunity to better her ranking.
If she wins her third title of the 2025 season at the WTA Finals, Anisimova will overtake Gauff and become American number one for the first time in her career.
However, it will be a tough test for Anisimova, who will now play Sabalenka for a place in the final of the WTA Finals.