Coco Gauff out of Wuhan Open as Aryna Sabalenka fights back to reach third straight final

Coco Gauff has been knocked out of the Wuhan Open following her semi-final defeat to Aryna Sabalenka. The US Open champion battled back from the brink of defeat to snatch a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win and book her place in Sunday's final.

After winning the China Open earlier this month, Gauff looked an obvious contender for the title in Wuhan. She enjoyed a perfect start to the tournament, beating Viktoriya Tomova, Marta Kostyuk and Magda Linette all in straight sets.

However, despite Gauff being a set and 4-2 up with the final in touching distance, Sabalenka rallied to produce a superb comeback at a tournament she knows very well. The world number two is now pushing for her third consecutive title at the WTA 1000 event, having last won at the Wuhan Open in 2018 and 2019, before it was cancelled for four years due to Covid-19.

After going 6-1 down in the first set, Sabalenka turned things around in the second as she capitalized on numerous Gauff double faults. The 20-year-old registered nine in both the second and deciding set, taking her match tally to 21 compared to the Belarusian's two.

More Gauff vs Sabalenka thrills

Gauff and Sabalenka have come together in some mouth-watering clashes and the latter's win in Wuhan levels their head-to-head record to 4-4. Last year, Gauff beat Sabalenka in the final of the US Open to claim her first-ever major title but the Belarusian got her revenge four months later when she edged out the Atlanta-born star in the Australian Open semi-final.

Sabalenka beat Gauff 7-6, 6-4 in Melbourne to secure her place against Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng of China in the final. The 26-year-old retained her AO title without dropping a single set.

The two will meet again on Sunday in the Wuhan Open final after Zheng beat compatriot Wang Xinyu in straight sets. Zheng is yet to lift her first Grand Slam trophy but she made history at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first Asian player, male or female, to win gold in singles.