Laura Robson says if she thinks Coco Gauff’s tactic against Jasmine Paolini will work against Aryna Sabalenka

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Coco Gauff returned to winning ways after beating Jasmine Paolini in her second round-robin match at the WTA Finals.

Gauff was beaten by Jessica Pegula in her first match at the WTA Finals this year, despite being the defending champion.

Despite seeming to make recent improvements with her serve, Gauff hit 17 double faults against Pegula.

As a result, there had been even more speculation about Gauff’s serve, but it was much more successful in her victory against Paolini.

Laura Robson praises Coco Gauff for the tactic she used against Jasmine Paolini

Gauff beat two-time Grand Slam finalist Paolini, 6-3 6-2, to win her first match of the 2025 WTA Finals.

In her straight sets victory, Gauff only hit three double faults and won 67% of her points on first serve, as well as 75% on her second serve, being broken just once.

When reflecting on the match on Sky Sports, former British number one Laura Robson praised Gauff for her performance and spoke about how she was not going for such big serves against Paolini.

“It was how she was getting her serves in as well, they were really safe,” said Robson. “Not going for too much. She was rolling the second serve in and making sure she was using the kick as much as possible.

“Of course that affects the serve speed that was down today, more towards the 85mph mark but that’s okay. It does not have to be aces. She hit her 400th double fault today for the year but most importantly only three more to the tally against a top eight player. A really good response to do.”

Gauff now has one final match to confirm her qualification to the semifinals of the WTA Finals, where she will take on world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

Robson was then asked if she thinks this same tactic would work for Gauff against Sabalenka, to which she admitted it would be a much bigger challenge.

“It’s going to be harder to do it,” responded Robson. “I think that’s where we are going to be on serve watch again. Because if she is going to roll it in for a kick serve I am sure we are going to see Sabalenka step up to the baseline and hit as many return winners as possible.

“It’s a different challenge, but most importantly she can gain some confidence from today and play herself into form this week.”

Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka Head-to-Head

Although Robson is not sure if Gauff will be able to implement her serve as effectively against Sabalenka, she does actually lead the head-to-head against the Belarusian.

Their most recent meeting was a big one, as Gauff beat Sabalenka in the Roland Garros final to win her second major title.

This was followed by a lot of controversy, as Sabalenka was criticised for comments she made after Gauff’s victory.

The last time they played each other on a hard court was at the exact same tournament last year, with Gauff beating Sabalenka in the WTA Finals semifinals.

Gauff will likely need to repeat this victory again if she is to keep her title defence alive and qualify for the semifinals of the WTA Finals.