Just a month ago, when Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka faced each other in Wuhan, Gauff had the clear advantage, methodically building up sets and breaks. But then, out of nowhere, her serve fell apart spectacularly. Although she fought well until the end, she suffered a whopping 21 double faults.
Although she's been on tour for six months now, it's easy to forget that Gauff, 20, is still growing and developing. Throughout this week, Gauff arrived in Riyadh with significant adjustments to her game, showed some of the fruits of those improvements and used them to play some of the best tennis of her career. On Friday, Gauff put in a great performance against world No. 1 Sabalenka with an impressive 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory to advance to the WTA Finals.
In the final, Gauff will face Olympic gold medalist Jen Chingwen in a battle between the two youngest athletes in the top 10. Zheng advanced to the final round of the WTA Finals for the first time in her career, extending her incredible breakout season. , held off a powerful comeback from Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova and won a tough 6-3, 7-5. The 22-year-old will move to a new career-high ranking of at least fifth place after her performance in Riyadh.
Throughout Gauff's short career, no aspect of her game has received as much attention as her forehand. She hit with an extreme Western grip and was often vulnerable against the world's best players. But this week, Gauff's weaker groundstrokes were very solid. After parting ways with former coach Brad Gilbert after the U.S. Open and hiring Matt Daley to replace her, Gauff also changed the grip on her service motion.
All of these improvements were evident in the rematch with Sabalenka, the best player in the world. In a shaky first set, Gauff served well, absorbing Sabalenka's breakneck pace with her forehands and maintaining consistent depth throughout. On the other hand, she made the court seem very narrow for Sabalenka with her excellent defense. The set was Sabalenka serving for the match, but Gauff recovered the break before playing a very clean tiebreaker and never let go of the momentum. This time, she only hit two double faults the entire time.
It will be Norie's first final since February 2023, when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Rio to win his fifth ATP Tour title. The British number two has been in and out of form since then, but returned last month after nearly three months out with a forearm injury.
Norrie broke in the first game of the match to take the first set, then broke Mutet again early in the second set. However, the opponent fought back in four consecutive games, and Norrie set himself up to force a tie-break. Moutet led 5-2, but Norrie scored five points to seal the victory in straight sets.
“It's been a difficult year for me, I just couldn't get any momentum going, so I'm happy to end the last week of the year with a final,” said Norrie. “I was just getting back to competing for every point, and it was great to be able to make my first indoor final as well…I’m really happy.”
Norrie will face fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in the final, following a comeback that saw him beat Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 in the second semi-final. PA media
“,”Credit”:””}”>
quick guide
Norrie ends wait for ATP final in Metz
show
Cameron Norrie reached his first ATP Tour final of the season at the Moselle Open in Metz, defeating France's Corentin Moutet 6-2, 7-6 (5) to secure his return to the top 50.
It will be Norie's first final since February 2023, when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Rio to win his fifth ATP Tour title. The British number two has been in and out of form since then, but returned last month after nearly three months out with a forearm injury.
Norrie broke in the first game of the match to take the first set, then broke Mutet again early in the second set. However, the opponent fought back in four consecutive games, and Norrie set himself up to force a tie-break. Moutet led 5-2, but Norrie scored five points to seal the victory in straight sets.
“It's been a difficult year for me, I just couldn't get any momentum going, so I'm happy to end the last week of the year with a final,” said Norrie. “I was just getting back to competing for every point. It was great to be able to make my first indoor final as well…I'm really happy.”
Norrie will face fellow Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in the final, following a comeback that saw him beat Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 in the second semi-final. PA media
Over the past few months, Sabalenka has been playing the best tennis of her career. In addition to the US Open, she won her third Grand Slam title at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Cincinnati and Wuhan, winning 21 of 22 matches in the process. However, this time she didn't match Gauff's intensity and she looked tired and nervous. Although 2024 was the best season of her career, Sabalenka ended the year with a tough loss.
After newsletter promotion
On the other hand, Chung's advance to the final in Riyadh is the result of his surprisingly consistent form since this summer. Despite reaching his first Grand Slam final at this year's Australian Open. Chung's real breakthrough came when she won a historic Olympic singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics, scoring an incredible upset victory over Swiatek along the way. Since then, she's only gone from strength to strength. Chung, who has amassed a record of 31 wins and 5 losses since mid-July, is hoping to cap off a spectacular season with another important title.
